The door closed.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Absolute.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The words Amelia left behind seemed to linger in the air.
Tell her why her mother really chose you.
Camille looked at Cassandra.
And for the first time since arriving at the estate, she wasn't seeing a powerful billionaire.
Or a respected philanthropist.
Or one of the most influential women in the world.
She was seeing a woman carrying something painful.
Something old.
Something she had spent years avoiding.
Cassandra remained standing.
Her eyes fixed on the closed door.
Lost somewhere far away.
Then she slowly sat back down.
For several seconds she said nothing.
Victor finally broke.
"Okay."
Silence.
Then
"I'm dying."
Elena pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Victor."
"No, seriously. Everybody keeps dropping cryptic statements and leaving. This family communicates like villains."
Nobody laughed.
Which told Victor exactly how serious the situation had become.
