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Board members. More of Mother's carefully chosen guests.
As we moved back toward the ballroom, I overheard Mother speaking to a group of businessmen near the champagne fountain. She was subtle, as always, but I caught enough.
"—by Friday, I should think. These American ventures are so fragile, especially when they lose their key personnel..."
The pieces clicked into place with sickening clarity.
This wasn't just about letting the acquisition run its course. Mother was actively accelerating Lili's destruction.
And she was enjoying every minute of it.
I thought about Lili inside, laughing with Cece, completely unaware that her professional execution had not only been ordered but expedited.
It would be in less than a week now, thanks to Mother's machinations.
Questions haunted me as I stood in the darkness. Was stopping her worth also sacrificing everything I'd built? Everything the Grosvenor name represented?
Looking through the glass at Lili's radiant smile, I realized I was about to find out.
As we rejoined the party, I watched Mother glide toward us with that predatory smile I knew so well.
She had several men in expensive suits following her—members of the Pugh’s Gardens board, I realized with growing dread.
"Miss Anderton," Mother called out sweetly. "I'd like you to meet some very important friends of mine. They're particularly interested in American television ventures."
Lili's smile was warm and genuine as she extended her hand to the first man. She had no idea she was about to shake hands with the very men who would sign her professional death warrant.
And from the satisfied gleam in Mother's eyes, that was exactly how she wanted it.
James caught my eye over Lili's head, and I saw my own horror reflected in his expression. He'd put the pieces together too.
"Some problems solve themselves," Mother had said on the phone.
But as I watched Lili charm the men who were about to destroy her career, I realized Mother was wrong about one thing.
This problem wasn't going to solve itself.
I was going to solve it.
It all depended on whether I could do it before it was too late.
CHAPTER 8
Lili
The champagne glasses clinked like tiny bells in the distance, but the sound felt hollow after hours of forced smiles and careful conversation.
My cheeks ached from maintaining that perfect-hostess expression—the one Daphne had coached me on that said, "I belong here" when every fiber of my being felt like screaming "imposter."
Lady Victoria's cutting comments still rang in my ears, each one a carefully placed reminder that I was playing dress-up in a world that wasn't mine.
I needed quiet. I needed space that didn't smell like expensive perfume and judgment disguised as polite conversation.
The library had always been my sanctuary in this maze of a manor, and tonight I needed it more than ever.
My fingers found the familiar brass handle, and I slipped inside, immediately breathing easier in the hushed sanctuary of leather-bound books and ancient wisdom. Moonlight streamed through the tall windows, casting everything in silver, making the whole room feel like something from a fairy tale.
I kicked off the deadly heels and let out a sigh that came from somewhere deep in my bones. "Sweet merciful Jesus," I muttered, wiggling my abused toes. The Persian rug felt like heaven under my stockings as I padded toward the window seat where I'd spent so many hours this past week, trying to make sense of my new life.