Sadie’s POV
Chloe's mouth opened and closed. She looked at Taylor, then at me, then at Lily, and something in her face collapsed – the composure, the calculation, the carefully constructed mask of superiority. What was underneath was uglier. Rawer. A woman who had just lost everything and had no idea how to function without the armor she'd worn her entire life.
She crumpled the exile notice in her fist, turned, and walked out of the room. Her footsteps echoed down the hallway, getting fainter, and then the front door opened and closed and she was gone.
Taylor watched her go. His shoulders were rigid, his jaw locked, and I could see the effort it was costing him not to follow her, not to ensure she actually left, not to handle this the way he handled everything – with force and finality.
