Chapter 7

The Crystal Pavilion Ballroom still hummed with the aftershock of Alexander’s second declaration. Elena Voss kept her spine straight against the wall of stares, but the academy’s ultimatum drilled into her skull like a countdown she couldn’t silence: public confirmation tonight, or Leo’s enrollment at St. Aldric faced formal review by morning. Five years of careful shielding, and one leaked rumor had reduced her son’s future to a bargaining chip.

She felt the weight of every silk gown and tailored tuxedo measuring her. The giant screen above the dance floor still flickered with Margot Hale’s curated poison—cropped messages and blurred photos designed to make Elena look like the architect of her own disgrace. The crowd’s murmurs had sharpened into something predatory.

Alexander materialized at her elbow, close enough that the faint scent of his cologne cut through the cloying mix of champagne and expensive perfume. His jaw was locked, the same tension she had seen when he walked out of the morning’s board meetin

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