Israel knew that once Skyler had made a decision, anything he said would be useless. It would only give his opponents more ammunition. He gritted his teeth so hard he felt they might crack.


    But Violet didn''t seem satisfied yet. She smiled sweetly. "Mr. Israel and I don''t know each other very well. Would it be possible for me to stay with the Williams family for a while to... get to know him better?"


    Had any other young woman spoken so openly, it would have been deemed shockingly forward. Given their past, however—a past marked by intimacy and a pregnancy that ended-feigning propriety now served little purpose.


    Besides, while the elite families of Solmaris were generally progressive, many still held some traditional values. It wasn''t unheard of for engaged couples to live under the same roof to build a rtionship and see if they were trulypatible before marriage, to avoid a disastrous unionter.


    Skyler considered it for a few seconds. "If the Yancey family has no objections, then neither do we."


    The sudden drama left a sour taste in everyone''s mouth. Jonathan, Israel, and Aurora all looked grim. Even though the Williams family had handled Violet''s public demand adeptly, it would still be the talk of the town among the guests.


    Sellers nced at Aurora, whose expression was growing colder by the second. "How did she suddenly show up here? Didn''t Leonard already find her?"


    Leonard, havinge up through the criminal underworld, had the best intelligencework. Not even Sellers couldpete with him on that front, which was why the Williams family had enlisted his help in tracking Violet down.


    "He found her," Aurora admitted, annoyed, "but she was too well-protected. We couldn''t get near her."


    Sellers looked surprised. "We''? What, Leonard didn''t just take care of the problem for you?"


    Aurora paused. "He only provided her location."


    "That doesn''t sound like him," Sellers mused. "And even if you couldn''t get to her, there''s no way Leonard didn''t know she wasing here tonight. If he had warned you, you could have stopped her at the doocor at least been prepared: You wouldn Have been caught so off guard Didn''t he say anything when he came to see you earlier?"


    Aurora''sshes fluttered. Leonard had only confronted her about not asking him to be her escort to the party. But thinking back, it was.


    unlike him to make a fuss on


    something so trivial Could he have originallye to warn her about Violet? Perhaps his mood soured after those rich heirs cornered her, and he changed his mind...


    She instinctively nced over at Leonard. He was standing perfectly still, his face an emotionless mask, showing no surprise at Violet''s appearance.


    A cold feeling settled in Aurora''s stomach. Maybe that was exactly why he''d sought her out.


    From a quiet corner, Joshua watched the scene unfold, a cryptic smile ying on


    his lips. With Violet moving into the Williams estate, Israel would be too preupied to bother Star. So, who was next?


    His gaze shifted to Sellers. Karl''s intense hatred for Star wasrgely Sellers''s doing. Joshua had learned from the doctors that Karl med Stell? for everything that had happened to him, and it was Selfers who had fed him that narrative.