The Master plan

Miss Aurora sat in her high-backed chair, a faint smile playing on her lips as she gazed out at the sprawling garden outside. Her thoughts drifted back to the evening Sammy had come to her, slipping into her study with that air of controlled urgency. It had been the night David’s anger toward Yvonne had nearly spilled into chaos, and Sammy had arrived looking every bit the part of the calm, collected mastermind she truly was.

Aurora hadn’t known what to expect from Sammy that evening, but the woman had exceeded every hope. She admired Sammy’s wit, her ambition, and the quiet fierceness with which she went about ensuring David’s—and her own—success. And in that night’s conversation, Sammy had laid out a plan so meticulous that it had filled Aurora with a begrudging sense of awe. Sammy was everything she could want in a daughter-in-law, someone who could be trusted to understand the stakes without letting emotion muddy the waters.

Mrs Aurora had been lonely in the society circle for a l