The Thorne Heiress Unveiling Shadow novel Chapter 88

Evelyn didn't use her usual weapons. The Lancaster Legacy Ball wasn't a problem she could solve with a hack or by playing the stock market. It was a problem about status, and for that, she needed a softer touch.

She needed Chrysalis.

In the Thorne command center, she pulled up a new screen. "This isn't about money or power, not directly," she explained to Kaelen and her family. "Claudia's weapon is social standing. She thinks her legacy and her name are untouchable. So, we don't attack her business. We attack her pride."

Chase still looked ready for a fight. "I still think we should just buy the hotel out from under her."

Evelyn shook her head, a small smile on her face. "Too crude, brother. We need to be more elegant."

She began her quiet, elegant plan. From a secure, hidden server, she wrote a simple email. The sender's address was a secret, known only to a few very important people in the worlds of art and high fashion.

The subject was just three words: "A Private Viewing."

The email was sent to only one hundred names from the guest list. These were the real bosses, the people whose opinions mattered, the billionaires and powerful families who decided what was in and what was out.

The email said:

Hello,

I hear many of you will be at the St. Regis Hotel this Saturday. By a happy coincidence, I am in New York for a short trip.

I would be honored if you would join me for a small, private art salon. I am hosting it in the hotel's Penthouse Suite on the same evening.

I will be showing, for the very first time, a long-lost painting by the master Bellini. It is called ‘The Seraphim's Tear'.

This is a private invitation. I hope you can make time to see a miracle.

Sincerely,

Evelyn had given them a choice. They could go to the stuffy, old-fashioned Lancaster Ball, hosted by a family that was now surrounded by ugly rumors. Or, they could go to the first-ever event hosted by a living legend, a chance to see a lost masterpiece unveiled.

It wasn't really a choice at all.

Kaelen watched her plan work with a deep, proud feeling. He understood what she was doing right away. She wasn't going to fight Claudia for the stage; she was just building a better, more exciting stage right next to it.

He made one phone call to his head of security.

"It's Kaelen," he said, his voice low and commanding. "I need the St. Regis Penthouse Suite on Saturday. I want it perfect. I want food from the best restaurant in the city, flowers flown in from Europe, and a security detail that could protect a head of state. Don't worry about the cost."

He paused, a slow, possessive smile on his face. He was providing the resources, but the power, the victory, was all hers. And he found he liked it that way.

"This evening is of the utmost importance to Miss Thorne," he said, his voice taking on a harder, more personal edge. "See to it that nothing goes wrong."