The Marigold Masquerade

I've always been the family fool, the sweet, clumsy girl whose only talent was a sensitive nose. My stepmother, Lady Amarantha, ensured everyone in the sun-drenched city of Miraflores saw me that way, especially after she sabotaged my entry to the Perfumer's Guild and seized the scent dynasty my mother left me. Now, with my younger brother Kaelan's health failing, I'm desperate. My chance comes in the form of Basilio Verran, a notoriously ruthless Special Investigator looking into my stepfather's corrupt dealings. He sees through my cheerful mask to the cold fury beneath, and he offers me a deal: I become his inside source, a seemingly harmless butterfly on the wall, and in exchange, he'll give me the tools to legally reclaim every drop of my inheritance. But as Basilio schools me in the art of manipulation, I find myself drawn to his quiet intensity, a bittersweet connection that could be my undoing. To save Kaelan, I must become a master of deceit, but how much of my true self will I sacrifice in this gilded masquerade?