Chapter 106

The restaurant occupied the entire top floor of a Midtown hotel, overlooking Central Park. Camille arrived fifteen minutes early, a tactic Victoria had taught her, secure the position of power, choose your seat, control the encounter from the first moment.

She selected a corner table with her back to the wall, facing both elevators. The host seated her with a professional smile, leaving her alone with her thoughts and a sparkling water she wouldn’t drink.

Camille smoothed her navy dress, a simple design that concealed the tension in her body. The silver rose pendant Alexander had returned to her hung at her throat, a reminder of who she had been before Rose’s betrayal, before Victoria’s transformation.

Her phone buzzed with a text from Alexander: Everything okay?

She typed: They haven’t arrived yet.

I’m in the lobby if you need me.

A small smile touched her lips. Alexander hadn’t questioned her decision to face her parents alo