Chapter 89

The engagement party was doomed from the moment it started. Martha Goodwin, supported by a younger attendant, slowly made her way onto the stage. Her piercing gaze swept over Shirley and Ivy, landing on them with an icy finality. Her lips curled into a cold, sharp smile. "You've certainly mastered your tricks," she began, her voice cutting through the air like a blade. "First, you tried to seduce my son and failed. Now, you've taught your daughter to sink her claws into my grandson. Like mother, like daughter—both cut from the same disgraceful cloth." "Mom!" Carlisle's voice snapped through the tension as he rushed to intervene. But the moment her steely gaze turned on him, Carlisle's bravado melted. His posture deflated, and his voice dropped into something meek. "What are you doing here?" he whispered harshly, glancing nervously at the crowd. He had gone to great lengths to keep the engagement a secret from the Zachman Manor, knowing full well that his mother would