Aurora had barely closed her eyes when the phone rang at dawn. Elise’s voice crackled urgently through the line.

“You need to turn on the news. Now.”

Aurora sat up, her chest tightening. She grabbed the remote, flicked on the screen, and froze.

Across every major channel ran the same footage her leaving Damien’s suite two nights ago, the camera angle grainy but damning. The anchors wasted no time:

“Heiress entangled with the ruthless Leclerc heir.”

“A business alliance… or ...