SIXTY NINE

ALICE'S POV

As I drove away from Sylvia's obnoxious press conference, I couldn't help but feel a mix of satisfaction and irritation. I had come there to get in her head, to make her stumble over her words, but she had held her own. I glanced at my rearview mirror, seeing the busted lip Sylvia had given me with that slap. I smiled at her supposed confidence.

I wasn't even mad at her for hitting me. In her shoes, I might have done the same. In a way, I admired her tenacity. But admiration didn't change the fact that she was a threat. She had picked the wrong turf to try and conquer—my turf, the Lockwood empire.

As I drove through the bustling city streets, my mind wandered to the decades of work I had put into building and maintaining our family empire. If I allowed Sylvia to stay, if I allowed her to gain even a foothold, everything I had worked for could be jeopardized. She wasn't someone I could control, and that made her dangerous.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, the smil