Stella’s POV

The second Kerwin opened his mouth and called me the heiress of The Pallas Consortium, I knew we were in trouble.

He said it so confidently, like it was some checkmate move he’d been dying to play. I turned my head slowly toward him, silently willing him to shut up.

But the words were already out, hanging in the air like the stench of something rotten.

And then—

Clarence looked at ...