Chapter 71
Chapter 71:
Miles away, in the Obsidian Tower Penthouse, Aurora sat on her velvet sofa, reviewing the acquisition reports for a new semiconductor plant. Her phone pinged. An automated email from Thorne Industries: You are cordially invited to the Engagement Celebration of Sterling Thorne and Isabella…
Aurora didn’t even read the full subject line. She swiped left. Delete. Her expression didn’t change. It was the same muscle memory as swatting a fly.
A moment later, the intercom buzzed.
“Miss Vance,” the doorman’s voice crackled. “A courier is here. He says he has a hand-delivered package from the Yates family p>
“Send him up,” Aurora said.
When she opened the door, the courier handed her a thick, cream-colored envelope sealed with gold wax. Inside was an invitation to the Yates Debutante Ball. The Yates family was old money—real money. The kind of money that didn’t need to shout because it owned the building everyone else was shouting in.
Aurora looked at the date. It was the same night as Sterling’s party. At the same hotel. The Pierre.
A slow, cold smile spread across her face.
She picked up her phone and dialed a number.
“Alessandro? It’s Aurora,” she said. “I need a dress. Something that commands, not begs. Midnight blue. And I need the necklace from the vault p>
“Which one?” the stylist asked.
“The Starless Night,” Aurora said.
The curtains in the master suite of the Kensington estate were drawn tight, blocking out the afternoon sun of Potomac, Maryland. The room smelled of lavender oil and sickness.
Matriarch Victoria Kensington lay on the massive four-poster bed, a cold compress pressed against her forehead. The pain was not a headache; it was a living thing, a splitting axe buried in her skull that twisted every time she moved.
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Vivian Kensington stood by the bedside, holding a bowl of herbal soup. Her face was arranged in a mask of perfect, dutiful concern, but her eyes were cold.
“Aunt Victoria, please,” Vivian said softly. “You need to eat. The doctors said your strength is fading p>
“Take it away,” Victoria groaned, pushing the bowl with a weak hand. “It smells like rot p>
The heavy oak doors opened, and the butler, Alfred, stepped in.
“Professor Yinn has arrived, Madam,” Alfred announced.
Catherine Yinn walked in, bringing with her the scent of antiseptic and old books. She didn’t bow to Vivian. She went straight to the bed.
“Victoria,” Yinn said gently. She took her old friend’s wrist, checking her pulse. It was thready.
“Catherine…” The Matriarch opened her eyes. “Did you find her? Did you find your Phoenix p>
Yinn hesitated. She thought of the girl in the tearoom. The cool authority. The absolute command of her craft.
“I found her,” Yinn said carefully. “But she is not a simple healer you can summon. She is a woman of power. She owns a tech empire. She is… formidable p>