After Harold left the dining room, the silence he abandoned behind him felt heavier than his presence ever had.
They all remained seated, no one daring to move. Claudia sat beside her son, smiling from ear to ear.
The long dinner table was still set with half-eaten food and untouched glasses of wine, but it felt like the air itself had been drained from the room. Ariana sat stiffly in her chair, her hands clenched in her lap, her eyes burning as she stared at the polished wood in front of her. She could still hear the echo of Harold’s disappointment ringing in her ears.
Her chest ached as she thought about how much harm that false information had done to her reputation.
‘Two days.’ She thought, her vision blurring. She had just two days to prove her innocence.
She blinked hard, but th
