Chapter 222

• Olivia's pov
• I had barely stepped off the podium when the last of the flashes died down. The press conference had drained me in ways I didn’t expect. My father should have been the one speaking to the public, but I knew he couldn’t—not when his heart was weighed down, not when his hands trembled too much to even hold the speech. The words had fallen on me, and I carried them out as gracefully as I could. I kept my voice steady, even though inside it felt like glass shattering with each word. The cameras didn’t need to see my cracks. They only needed to see strength, a united Carrington front.
• As soon as I turned away from the bright lights and murmurs of reporters, my heels clicked hurriedly against the marble floor, echoing down the long corridor that led to my father’s private suite. I could still hear the questions they were shouting after me—questions about Claire, about the family’s standing, about the company’s future. I ignored them all. None of them mattered right now. None of them knew how fragile everything was inside these walls.