Chapter 445

• Cassandra had personally ensured that an invitation was sent to the Farrell family.
• Among the city’s old-money dynasties, the Farrells held a rare kind of prestige generational ties to government, defense contracting, and high-level diplomacy. Their name still held weight, even though they'd retreated from the social spotlight in recent years. General Timothy Farrell remained active in global security affairs, advising the World Peace Council and sitting on several multinational defense boards. His influence was quiet, but unmistakable.
• The family’s longtime patriarch had been ill for years, largely absent from public life. The role of matriarch had naturally shifted to Timothy’s wife, Opal, a sharp, pragmatic woman who now managed both the household and the family’s reputation.