"Say that again," Bellatrix said, in a tone that could have frozen over every circle of hell and still had cold to spare.
"Your affair. With Gavriel Sterling. Dexmon's best friend. A man the same age as your son."
"You wouldn't."
"Try me."
"You would never say a word about that." Bellatrix's voice dropped and she leaned back in her chair, watching Serena the way a cat watches a mouse that just tried to bite. "Because the only way to expose me is to expose him. And we both know you don't have the stomach for that."
Serena crossed the space between them and leaned down until she was level with Bellatrix's eyes. Close enough to see the thing Bellatrix never let anyone see. The mask had seams.
"Bet," Serena said.
Bellatrix's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. She looked like a woman who had been handed a foreign object and told it was a weapon.
