The Williams family had just begun to rx, feeling some relief now that Aurora Williams was finally joining the family business, when their assistant rushed in, visibly flustered.

    "Mr. Williams, sirs! There''s big trouble! Yesterday, Ms. Cameron''s car hit the sons of both an oil tycoon and a prominent banker. Both young men were seriously injured-doctors say they might even be left with permanent disabilities. Now their families are at our front door, demanding an exnation!"

    Israel Williams''s brows drew together in irritation. "This was Ste Cameron''s doing. What does it have to do with us? Besides, Ste made a public spectacle of herself yesterday everyone knows there''s bad blood between us and her. Let them take it up with Ste, not with us."

    The assistant hesitated. "With all due respect, sir, foreigners don''t see things the way we do. In their eyes, Ste is still your daughter, which means she represents the Williams family. If we try to brush them off, they won''t go after Ste—they''ll just see us as shirking responsibility. And...''

    He cast a wary nce at Israel before continuing, weighing his words carefully. "If word gets out that we tried to disown her the moment something went wrong, after only recently weing her back, we''ll be aughingstock among the elite. People will say we only acknowledged Ms. Cameron for her shares in thepany, and now we''re tossing her aside when it''s inconvenient. Our reputation will be in ruins."

    Though Ste currently held no real power, her public image was formidable. Ever since her divorce, she''d been a regr in the media—and always portrayed in a positive light. Even the few negative stories were quickly debunked, earning her even more public support.

    Even Haynes O''Brien, who once tried to crush her, hadn''t managed to get the better of Ste. In Novaris, Haynes could shape public opinion and pull plenty of strings, but even so, he''d ended up on the losing side more than once. If someone as influential as Haynes couldn''t outmaneuver Ste, what chance did Skyler Williams and the rest of the family have?

    If this kind of scandal blew up in Novaris, they''d have absolutely no way to save face-they''d be leftpletely defenseless.

    Coleman Williams muttered, "If we''d known we''d have to bring Ste back into the family, we should''ve done it earlier, before she made a name for herself. Now she''s too influential to control."

    He remembered how, back when Ste donated the entire

    billion-dor divorce settlement she''d wrung from Haynes, he''d.

    dismissed her as san

    and

    na?ve. With that kind of money, she could have lived infort for the rest of her life. He and Israel hadughed at her for being so foolish.

    Now, as that very act wasing back to haunt them-making Ste

    untouchable-Coleman wasn''tughing anymore.

    After a heavy silence, Skyler finally spoke. "Invite our guests into the office. I''ll handle this myself."

    He knew that if things weren''t

    smoothed over, those two powerful families would be the Williams family''s sworn enemies. It wouldn''t

    matter whether Ste or the Williamses were actually

    nove

    responsible; the distinction would be

    lost on them.

    As soon as Skyler left the room, Israel, still seething, snatched up the phone and dialed Ste''s number.

    "Ste, you''vended yourself in serious trouble. You hit two men from families we can''t afford to cross. If you don''t want your life ruined, get to the Williams Group now!"

    Jonathan Williams barely had time to stop him before Israel hung up.

    Jonathan''s voice was cold. "Why did you call Ste here? Isn''t this mess bad enough already?"

    Israel shot back, "She''s the one who ran them over-she ought to apologize. Does she really think outsiders will let this slide the way family does?"