Guests milled around the banquet hall in small clusters, their hushed conversations weaving through the air.


    "No surprise it''s Aurora-she excels at everything she does. Remember that contract signingst month? The way she handled all those challenges, calm as ever."


    "In the end, even Johnson-who''s notorious for being tight-fisted-had to give in."


    "Johnson? I''ve heard he''s a shark in negotiations. Hardly anyone ever gets the better of him. And this time, he actually caved?"


    "Exactly. That''s what makes Aurora so impressive."


    "Did you hear? The other Williams family heir took over a newpany too, but she didn''t just fail—she somehow managed to offend the Pearce family as well."


    "Even if the Pearce family isn''t a business powerhouse, generations of them have served the President of Solmaris. Ticking them off? She must have a death wish."


    "If you ask me, Ste''s nothing but bad luck. Ever since she came back to the Williams family, it''s been nothing but chaos. She''s managed to ruffle feathers in every prominent family-old money, new money, you name it."


    "I heard she''s jealous of all the men vying for Aurora, so she forbade Leonard from pursuing her, even banned him from setting foot in the Williams estate."


    At that, several guests nced over in surprise. After all, they''d watched the drama unfold on the livestreams.


    Someone spoke up, skeptical. "But wasn''t it Leonard who kidnapped Ste first? With a grudge like that, isn''t Ste''s reaction pretty reasonable?"


    "So what, is Aurora really supposed to end up with the guy who hurt her own sister?"


    Another voice chimed in, dismissive. "Oh,e on. You actually believe all that? Ste''s just ying everyone, making herself the center of attention-as usual."


    "That''s what she''s famous for back in Novaris," someone agreed. "Always dragging her husband and son into her drama, iming Rachel Pearce was the other woman and that she only got divorced because she was supposedly flirting around during her marriage."


    "Not to mention, she bragged endlessly about her violin skills, like she was some prodigy. But in the end, she dropped out of thepetition, didn''t she?"


    "Exactly. I bet she realized she couldn''t back up all that talk. So she tried to pin her failures on Leonard-killed two birds with one stone."


    Pretty much everyone at tonight''s banquet was firmly in Aurora''s


    camp


    matter what Ste did,


    they always found a way to justify tor pin the me elsewhere.  s


    Meanwhile, in the dressing room, Aurora stood before the mirror, smoothing the folds of her custom gown Queenie, do you see anything out of ce she aske turning,


    slightly.


    s


    Queenie Burton smiled at her reflection. "Not a thing. You''re perfect-absolutely radiant. You''ll steal the show tonight, no doubt about it."


    Aurora''s gown shimmered with tiny, hand-sewn crystals that caught the light with every move she made. Yet even their brilliance couldn''t outshine her.


    She was breathtaking-elegance itself, every detail meticulously arranged.


    Aurora nced at Queenie. "Has Simone Lerman arrived yet?"


    "Not yet, but she said she''s almost here."


    Queenie hesitated, then asked, "Aurora, what exactly happened with Simone''s kidnappingst time? I haven''t seen her around much recently."


    A faint shadow crossed Aurora''s delicate features. "Simone managed to escape on her own. She said the kidnappers were only after money once they got what they wanted, they let her go. The only<fna191> Checktest chapters at Find_Novel(.</fna191>


    reason they messed with Leonard''s


    assistant was to stall, buy


    themselves time to get away."  s


    "Was Simone hurt at all?" Queenie pressed.


    "Not really. I think, since she''s Leonard''s sister, they didn''t dare do anything too drastic."


    Queenie frowned slightly. "Still, Simone''s been through dangerous situations before, but this time it feels... different. Doesn''t it?"