The press conference was scheduled for ten AM.
I didn't know about it until Harper texted me a link at nine forty-five. A live stream from the Plaza Hotel. Victoria Brooks at a podium, cameras everywhere, looking every inch the grieving matriarch.
"Turn on channel seven," Harper said when I called her. "Right now."
I switched on the TV just as Victoria began speaking.
She looked perfect. Black dress, understated jewelry, just the right amount of makeup to suggest she'd been crying but was being brave. A masterclass in image management.
"Thank you all for coming," she said, voice quivering slightly. "I know there's been a lot of speculation, a lot of rumors, about my family. About my daughter. And I think it's time I addressed them directly."
"Oh no," I breathed.
Harper was already a
