CH.110

The gathered press corps seemed to sense the shift in the air as well. Their shouted questions died down to an uneasy murmur of confusion and speculation between the Montgomery family, which stood like a united front of seething hatred, and the Glovers.

Their eyes bore into Serena with an intensity that could melt steel.

Alex, his father Vaughn, his mother Sylvia, and a veritable army of aunts, uncles, and cousins formed a wall of barely contained rage. Even Kayla’s father, Governor Glover known for his cool demeanor in the face of political crises, looked ready to spit nails.

He stood stiffly beside his new wife - a woman young enough to be his daughter with a face that owed more to skilled surgeons than genetics.

The governor's second daughter, Kayla’s little sister hovered nearby, her own children fidgeting in their somber black attire while her husband tried to keep them quiet.

The atmosphere was saturated with a powder keg of emotions, ready to explode at the slight