The Williamses had their code; they wouldn''t resort to truly vile methods. The


    Camerons, however, were a family in decline, wing for their lost status—exactly the type to take a reckless gamble.


    On the day of old Mrs. Cameron''s birthday g, Ste once again had Joshua as her escort. As they arrived at the entrance to the venue, she noticed he was unusually quiet.


    "Joshua, what''s wrong?" Ste asked. "Are you not feeling well?"


    Joshua''s brow furrowed. "I don''t know why, but I''ve been on edge all day."


    "Did you have trouble sleeping against night?" she asked.


    "No," he said. Perhaps it was his mood, but his insomnia had been less frequenttely. At this rate, he might soon be able to sleep like a normal person.


    After entering the banquet hall, Joshua found a quiet moment to call Harold and ask for an update on Sellers. "How''s it going?"


    "We''ve hit some roadblocks," Harold reported. "Andtely, Sellers has been in frequent contact with the Cameron family. I''ve had people tailing him, but he''s being extremely cautious. We haven''t found anything useful."


    Sellers already knew Joshua''s identity, and with this much time to prepare, dealing with him wouldn''t be as straightforward as it had been with Leonard. Moreover, given Mr. Burton''s rtionship with Ste, there were a lot of tactics they couldn''t use. Joshua couldn''t risk turning Ste and Mr. Burton against each other. At most, he could try to undermine Sellers''s position, but he couldn''t employ the same heavy- handed tactics they had used on Leonard.


    This should have been a gradual process, but Joshua had suddenly urged him to speed things up. Harold admitted that he would likely have troublepleting the task on Joshua''s timeline.


    Joshua paused for a moment before saying, "Something might happen at the g tonight."


    Harold was startled. "Mr. Gardner, is your source reliable?"


    "It''s just a gut feeling," Joshua replied. "Sellers has been quiet for too long. He''s not going to do nothing. Since he''s been in touch with the Camerons, and tonight is old Mrs. Cameron''s birthday... this party won''t be a peaceful one."


    "Mr. Gardner, should we get things ready on our end? Just in case." Harold asked.


    "We don''t know what they''re nning yet, so we can''t prepare without risking it backfiring. Let''s wait and see. We''ll find out soon enough what kind of game they''re ying."


    The grand ballroom was a glittering spectacle of gold and crystal, alive with the clinking of sses and cheerful chatter. The most


    important figures from the


    families the


    the


    major


    artons, Chapmans, the Watsons, and the Williamses-were all in attendance.


    Even Leonard, surprisingly, had shown up.


    Seeing him, Queenie Burton murmured to Aurora, "Leonard''s been skipping a lot of important eventstely. The only reason he''de to old Mrs. Cameron''s g is because he knew you''d be here."


    Aurora nced over at Leonard. Unlike before, he didn''t immediately scan the room for her or approach her to say hello instead he had taken @ ss of red wine and settled onto à sofa in a quiet corner sipping it leisurely. He looked less like a guest and more like a spectator waiting for a show.


    A flicker ofplex emotion crossed Aurora''s eyes.


    Just then, Queenie grabbed her wrist


    and started pulling her toward Leonard. Come on, Aurora, let''s go say h. Men have their pride, Sometimes you have to be the one to extend an olive branch. I''m sure if you make the first move, no man could possibly turn you down."


    Before Aurora could protest, they were standing in front of him.