"I knew it," one of them said, her voice dripping with resentment. "She was supposed to be this perfect new face, someone to polish the family's reputation."
The girl beside her scoffed, crossing her arms. "And look now. A scandal wrapped in silk."
But not everyone bought the story so easily.
A man with a deep, commanding voice stepped forward slightly, his brows drawn together. "This is too convenient," he said, his tone steady but loaded with suspicion. His sharp eyes scanned the screen, then the man holding the tablet. "Why expose this at a noble event unless someone planned it? This feels like a setup."
His words rippled through the room. Some guests nodded slowly, their doubt stirring. Others shifted in their seats, uneasy, unwilling to commit, afraid of choosing the wrong side in front of so many powerful eyes.
The air thickened with tension, the ballroom splitting in two:
