The massive gates opened slowly, allowing the car to enter the Rochefort mansion grounds. Arianne glanced out the window and saw the familiar driveway curving between old trees planted in two even rows. The ancestral estate stood ahead, intact and imposing.
The outer walls remained unchanged, the stone facade showing no visible signs of renovation. The crest above the main entrance had not been altered. Nothing about the estate suggested transition, even though leadership inside it had already shifted.
She had lost count of how many times she had come here. Though she was now married to Franz, the estate had never felt like home. Gravel shifted beneath the tires before settling again.
