Kitty froze for a moment but quickly said, "Now''s not the time for this. You should go greet the guests."


    Austin snapped back to reality, nodded, straightened his suit, and without a second thought for Mirabe and Attorney As, hurried towards the entrance of the banquet hall.


    Kitty had initially thought of following him, but it wasn''t quite right for her to be greeting guests like that, especially when there were other matters to handle. She turned to Mirabe, her expression cool, "Let''s wrap up today''s business here. If you''ve got any more ideas, save them forter. I''ve got important guests today, and you can''t afford to mess this up."


    Not waiting for Mirabe to respond, Kitty nced around the room, motioned for a Cunningham family servant, and instructed him to take Mirabe backstage.


    At this point, all eyes were on the guest from the Shepherd family, barely sparing Mirabe and her entourage a nce. Talk of audio recordings, wills, andwyers was promptly brushed aside.


    Kitty let out a sigh of relief.


    She didn''t know who from the Shepherd family had shown up, but their presence had indirectly helped patch up the Cunningham family''s tarnished reputation.


    No matter how tonight''s events spread around, just having someone from the Shepherd family at their banquet would prevent others from looking down on the Cunningham family because of the scandal.


    Meanwhile, Austin had made his way to James, nodding respectfully, "James, it''s great to see you. Please, this way."


    James, still holding his phone, wore a handsome but expressionless face. He gave Austin a cursory nce, as if doing him a favor, and walked inside.


    That one look made Austin''s palms sweat, but underneath it all, he was thrilled. This was someone who never showed up at these kinds of gatherings. If he could forge even the slightest connection today, who in Riverdale would dare to look down on the Cunningham family again?


    Pushing aside his swirling thoughts, Austin stayed close to James. He noticed Mirabe still standing there, frowned, and tried to steer James in another direction, "Come this way, James."


    But his words seemed to disappear into thin air.


    Austin watched as James ignored his suggestion, heading straight towards his niece, which left him puzzled.


    Then, Austin nced at Kitty, remembering how quickly she had recognized the guest from the Shepherd family, and shelved his doubts, figuring James must know Kitty and was going over to her.


    Kitty was still instructing the servant to take Mirabe backstage, her impatience evident to anyone watching.


    It was only when James approached that Kitty quickly masked her impatience, smiling and nodding in greeting, "Hello, James."


    James didn''t look at her but fixed his gaze on Mirabe, his expression unchanged, though the intensity in his eyes seemed to momentarily soften.


    Seeing James focus on Mirabe, Kitty was momentarily taken aback, then she asked, "James, this is my niece. Do you know her?"


    James narrowed his eyes, finally looking directly at Kitty, "And you are?"


    Kitty met James''s gaze, her breath catching, feeling as though she had been plunged into an ice bath, chilled to the bone.


    Rumor had it that the Shepherd family member was unpredictable and hard to approach, and it seemed the rumors were true.


    Taking a deep breath, Kitty managed to steady her voice, "I''m Kitty, my husband is with the ke family..."