ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THREE

ALICE'S POV

I sat in my office, the tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife. The hum of the city outside my window was muffled by the thick glass, leaving me in a silence that was only broken by the faint chatter seeping through the door. My fingers drummed a slow, steady rhythm on the polished mahogany desk, my eyes fixed on the door as I listened intently to the sounds outside.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I leaned forward, pressing the intercom button on my desk. “Julia,” I called, my voice steady, “what’s going on out there?”

Within seconds, the door opened, and my assistant, Julia, stepped inside, her expression a mix of concern and mild amusement. “It’s Jocelia,” she said, her voice hushed as if the woman in question might still be lurking around the corner. “She was here to see Grayson, but he… he chased her out. It was quite a scene.”

I arched an eyebrow, intrigued. “Really? What exactly happened?”

Julia stepped closer, her voice dropping to a conspira