The tension within the Livingston Manor had reached a boiling point, the air thick with the metallic tang of unspoken threats and the lingering scent of expensive scotch. Liam stood amidst the wreckage of his family's pride, his silhouette framed by the flickering crystal light of the ballroom.
"Liam..." Asher York began, his voice barely a whisper. He wanted to reach out, to bridge the chasm that had opened between his cousin and the rest of the Livingston Dynasty, but the words died in his throat. He could only shake his head slowly, the weight of the day’s disasters pressing down on him.
Howard Livingston stood frozen, his face a mosaic of conflicting emotions. Deep down, he knew that the catastrophic escalation of the evening was entirely the fault of Lydia Lee and Logan Livingston,
