Chapter 25
Brilliant, Strategic, Airtight
Father's roar still seemed to vibrate in the air, his face dark with a humiliation I had never seen before. Lilith knelt amid her heap of designer bags, her sobs loud and messy, while Mother hovered helplessly beside her, wringing her hands.
"They will not lie for you, Lilith! You have made us a laughingstock!" Father thundered, as he was pointing toward the door as if all of society stood there watching.
The room was slipping into chaos, emotion without direction, shame without strategy.
This was the moment.
The moment when a leader drowning in humiliation needed someone to hand him a lifeline.
I stepped from the base of the staircase. "Father," I said, my voice quiet but steady enough to slice through Lilith's wailing.
All three turned to me. Surprise. Irritation. Weariness.
"What is it, Alayna?" Father snapped.
