The golden afternoon light filtered through the heavy velvet curtains of the Montgomery Estate, casting long, dramatic shadows across the mahogany flooring of the grand salon. The atmosphere was thick, not with familial warmth, but with the suffocating scent of greed and high-stakes desperation. Serena Montgomery stood rigidly by the window, her knuckles white as she gripped the silk fabric of her dress.
"It’s not that I blindly believe every word he says," Serena whispered, her voice barely audible over the rising chatter of the gathered relatives. She glanced sideways at Liam Livingston, her expression a complex tapestry of doubt and daughterly loyalty. "But he’s my father. What am I supposed to do? Stand up in front of the entire Montgomery Clan and call him a liar? Just... just stay c
