The gala at the Langford Hotel was all marble and gold with chandeliers dripping crystal light over polished floors. The air smelled faintly of expensive perfume, champagne, and the unbridled ambition that came with having far too much money.

The moment we stepped inside, heads turned our way and conversations stalled for just a beat before picking up again in hushed tones. The Westwoods had finally arrived, and from the way some people were looking at me, I might as well have been wearing a scarlet letter.

Adrian's hand rested at the small of my back, guiding me through the room. Ava followed close behind, scanning the crowd as though she had a mental checklist of possible threats.

"Smile," Adrian murmured under his breath.

"Remind me why we couldn't just skip this whole thing?" I whispered back.

"We could have," he said quietly. "You're the one who wanted to stop hiding, remember?"

His tone wasn't harsh, just a gentle reminder. And he was right, I had been the one to insist we come, but I was already beginning to regret it.

The first approach came before we even made it to the champagne table.

"Adrian! So good to see you," a man in an expensive tux said, gripping Adrian's hand too tightly. His wife leaned forward to air-kiss Adrian's cheek, then turned to me with that particular brand of curiosity rich women perfected.

"And this must be your lovely wife. What a whirlwind for you both, eh?"

Before I could figure out how to respond to that, another woman in their little circle lowered her voice to what she probably thought was a discreet whisper. "Terrible business about the... incident at your home. Some people are saying it was an old business partner, that can't possibly be true, can it?"

"Don't believe everything you hear, Mrs. McCarthy," Adrian replied smoothly. "My wife and I are fine."

The group laughed politely, but their eyes stayed on us as we moved away, they had already drawn their own conclusions.

That's when I saw her. Allegra.

She stood across the ballroom in a silver gown that caught the light with every breath she took, her dark hair swept into a knot so perfect it looked like art. She was smiling at someone, but her gaze flicked up and found mine across the room.

My heart jumped to my throat. "She's here."

"I see her," Adrian said without missing a step.

"How the hell did she get in?"

"She gets invited to everything. Old money does that for you."

She started moving toward us, weaving through the crowd with the kind of confidence that came from never being told no.

"Adrian," she greeted us warmly, her voice smooth as silk. "And Mrs. Westwood. Finally, we can have a proper introduction!"

"We've already met," I said, unable to keep the edge out of my voice.

"Not in public," she corrected with a smile. "Such a shame our first chat had to be so... tense. I was absolutely horrified to hear about the attack on your beautiful home, makes you wonder who would do such a terrible thing."

The people around us were already leaning in to listen. Allegra dropped her voice just enough that they had to strain to hear. "When you make as many business deals as Adrian does, you're bound to upset someone eventually. An old partner, maybe? Someone who didn't take being pushed out very well?"

A ripple of whispers passed through the group. Adrian's expression didn't change.

"Have a lovely evening, Allegra," he said flatly.

Her smile got wider, eyes practically sparkling with smug satisfaction, before she drifted off to work her charm on another circle of people.

I was still trying to process that encounter when a voice I knew way too well cut through the noise around us.

"Celeste? Oh my goodness!"

I turned and felt my blood run cold. "Marla?"

There she was, stunning as always in a navy silk gown, her blonde hair styled to perfection. But something was off about her usual bright smile. I hadn't seen her since she'd disappeared weeks ago without explanation.

"I didn't know you were back in town, you never mentioned anything about leaving." I said, keeping my voice carefully neutral.

"Got in just yesterday! Heard about all that awful business and thought I simply had to check on you, sugar," she said with that familiar Texas drawl, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes the way it used to.

Ava stepped up beside us so fast it was like she’d been waiting, and her eyes locked on Marla. “Didn’t expect to see you tonight. What are you doing here?”

Marla’s smile wavered. “Must’ve slipped my mind to mention it.”

“Slipped your mind, did it? You usually don’t forget.”

“I’ve been really busy, but when I heard the news about what went on at the house, I just had to come back to make sure our Celeste was okay.”

"Right." Ava said, still watching Marla. “And that's why you disappeared for so long without a word.”

Marla gave a short laugh that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Disappeared? Please. I just took some time. Still working for the Westwoods.”

“You can't blame me for being cautious, even the most loyal people can become liabilities,” Ava said with an edge in her voice.

Marla turned to me. “Trust me when I say It's not like that at all. We’ve been through too much together for that, right, honey?”

Her tone was bright, but I could hear the strain in it.

“It's really nice to see you again, Marla. Let’s talk later,” I said, forcing a smile.

She nodded and slipped away , but not before I saw her eyes cut toward Allegra.

The rest of the evening dragged by like torture, every conversation felt like walking through a minefield.

"So how did you two actually meet?"

"Any plans to start a family soon?"

"Being married to someone so high-profile must make you feel so guarded all the time, am I right?"

I could feel eyes on me even when people weren't talking to us directly, and I felt like an exhibit they were all studying.

Near the bar, I caught two women whispering:

"Such a shame, I thought she was supposed to make him look stable and settled. Just look at her, she looks like she's ready to bolt."

"Maybe that's the whole point, everyone loves a damsel in distress, they just eat it up."

A board member cornered us near the balcony doors. "Adrian, I hate to bring up business at a social event, but some of our investors are getting nervous. Between the attack and all the media attention, they're starting to question whether your... situation is as stable as we'd hoped." His gaze flicked toward me, making it crystal clear what he meant by "situation."

Adrian's voice went ice cold. "My personal life isn't up for discussion."

"Of course not," the man said, though his expression said he thought otherwise.

Across the room, Allegra was holding court with a group that included at least three journalists, her hand resting on one man's arm as she leaned in to whisper something. A moment later, they all turned to look in my direction.

Near the balcony, Marla stood alone, typing rapidly on her phone, her body angled so nobody could see her screen. But her usual animated texting style was gone, this time she looked urgent, laser focused on whatever she was typing.

Ava noticed it too. "She's definitely up to something," she murmured to Adrian.

I caught Adrian's eye. "Please tell me she's not the one who's been leaking information."

"Not here," he said quietly, but his expression told me everything I needed to know.

We managed to stick it out for another twenty minutes before Adrian decided we'd done enough damage control for one night.

On our way to the exit, Allegra intercepted us one final time. "Do drive carefully on your way home tonight. You just never know who might be watching these days."

Her smile was sweet as honey, but her eyes promised nothing but trouble.

Across the room, Marla was still there with her phone, watching us head for the door with an expression I couldn't quite read, and I couldn't shake the feeling that between the two of them, someone had just set the next disaster in motion.