Adrian was led out next.

He did not look back.

I turned to Margaret.

The old woman looked smaller now, her shoulders slightly stooped.

The powerful matriarch of Newport was gone.

“You won,” Margaret said, her voice barely a whisper.

“Lily won,” I corrected her.

“I am just her mother.”

I stood up from the table.

Grace gathered her papers and put them into her briefcase.

“The board will receive our formal proposal for the restructuring of the trust by tomorrow morning,” Grace told the room.

Nobody objected.

We walked out of the boardroom.

The air in the hallway felt cooler, cleaner.

We took the elevator down to the lobby.

A crowd of reporters had gathered outside the glass doors of the building.

Flashbulbs went off as we stepped onto the street.

I shielded Lily’s face with my hand, keeping her tucked against my shoulder.

Grace led the way to a waiting black sedan.

The driver opened the door, and we climbed inside.

The door closed, shutting out the noise of the city.

I looked down at Lily.

She opened her eyes, staring up at me with her bright blue eyes.