After her meeting at Liam's company Grace knew something was off the moment her father's aide called , not his scheduler, not his press secretary, but his personal aide.
"Governor Cole would like to see you," the voice said, carefully neutral "Tonight."
No location. No agenda. Just tonight.
That was never a good sign.
By the time she arrived at the family Mansion in Georgetown, the place was already buzzing with quiet tension. The household staff was gone. No media in sight. Just her father, alone in the study, nursing a glass of scotch and staring at a fire that didn't need tending.
"Grace ," he said without looking up. "Close the door."
She stepped inside and folded her arms. "You know, most people start conversations with hello."
He exhaled. "I don't have time for games."
"Then get to the point"
The governor's private study always smelled like old books, ambition, and expensive bourbon.
Grace stood by the window, arms crossed, as the city glittered outside like a lie dressed in diamonds. Her father paced behind her, his voice low but charged with restrained fury.
"You went to war with Liam Vale," he said, "then turned around and joined his camp. What the hell are you doing?"
Grace didn't flinch. "I didn't join his camp. I took control of it."
Governor Cole turned, the weight of years in his eyes. "That's not how this looks, Grace . The press thinks you flipped. My donors think you're siding with a man who threatened our legacy project. And my campaign team…" He broke off, exhaling "They're calling this political suicide."
She finally looked at him "I'm not your campaign"
"You're my daughter," he said sharply. "And everything you do reflects on me."
She let the silence hang for a beat too long.
"I didn't back Liam ," she said. "I backed the city. I backed the version of Eon Heights that won't gut historic communities or leave working families behind. The version I helped redesign."
"And you trust him now?" her father asked, incredulous. "After everything?"
"I don't trust him," she said. "But I don't need to trust him to do my job better than anyone else in that room."
He ran a hand through his graying hair. "You're putting yourself in the crosshairs. His board hates you. Your firm is watching this like a hawk. And if this blows up, you're taking all the heat."
"I've taken heat my whole life" she said quietly. "For being your daughter. For being too polished, too privileged, too political. This? This is the first time I've had a shot to build something instead of just fixing the optics of someone else's mess"
The words landed with more truth than she expected. Her father's expression softened just slightly but not enough.
"This thing with Vale," he said, carefully now, "Is it just business?"
She met his gaze without blinking. "Yes. For now."
That pause just a second too long didn't escape him.
"Grace ," he said, walking closer. "Be careful. Men like him? They don't give power they lend it. And they take it back the second you stop being useful"
She didn't answer
Because she knew he was right.
But she also knew something her father didn't, Liam Vale hadn't just handed her power. He dared her to use it against him. And whether that was arrogance or honesty, she was still figuring out.
As she left the mansion, the weight of legacy hung over her like smoke. But beneath it just beneath was something else .