The Secret Heiress They Tried To Erase

r-to-ceiling windows, her fingers trac

elic from a life far from this one, regi

a size too large in the shoulders and a fraction too tight across th

f conversation was punctu

o-name town in the middle of nowhere."

in. "Talia has such a good heart. Bringing that sort into her

ges stood like silent, green sentinels under the twilight sky. The words were

ved through the crowd like a princess in her court, a perfect smile on her lips. Every so o

well-prac

circle. She held her champagne flute like a weapon, her

r age and raised her voice just enou

laying on her lips. "They think a glass slipper can turn anyone into a princ

he room turned, their collective gaze a physical weight on Elara's

ve them

dress swished awkwardly around her ankles. Her clear, dark

t, surprised path opening in the sea of silk an

ting as if to say something, to stop

the space between them crackled with a stark difference in presence. One was a predat

carried with unnerving c

talking a

tation. She recovered quickly, lifting her chin in d

pression unreadable. "Whether I have s

etting the si

d, her voice still even, "are no

ot, blotchy tide. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out

p intake of breath

ir faces hardened. Warren, a man whose expression was a constant calculation

, materialized at his side. Finch, his face a mask of grim p

new, more serious urgency in his eyes. The sma

n the unfolding scene, and walked briskly o

his mess. She looked at Elara, standing at the center of the conflict, and her eyes we

returned. She interpreted his exit a

s. She was about to speak, to

g a gentle hand on her arm. "Ashley, don't," she said, her

ect mask of sisterly concern. "Elara, ple

s still. She didn't acknowledge Claire's

he patriarch's sudden absence and the false peacemaker's intervention. T