Julian looked directly at Liam, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Please direct your attention to the entrance. Allow me to introduce the sole owner, CEO, and Chairwoman of Holloway Global Components… Mrs. Eleanor Holloway.”

The spotlight didn’t just illuminate me; it seared the air in the ballroom.

Four hundred of the wealthiest people in North Carolina watched in a silence so profound it was deafening.

Liam’s face went through a terrifying transformation — first the confusion, the frantic search for a logical explanation, then the realization hitting him like a physical blow.

His jaw went slack, his skin turning a sickly, translucent grey.