Chapter 151

Lily was bent over a long sheet of tracing paper, graphite dust on her fingertips, when Mia knocked on the office door. “Come in,” she called without looking up. The knock sounded small but precise the kind of interruption that always made her nerves hum. Mia stepped in, eyes quick, face trying to say something neutral that would not leak into gossip. “Ms. Lily, I just got a call from Mr. Hardison's assistant” she said, and the words fell into the room like a stone. Lily straightened. The pencil she was holding tightened in her fist until it hurt. “What? Why did they call” Her voice came out flat. Mia swallowed. “Hardison’s assistant called. They say to cancel the contract with Ms. Laurent. They offered to pay if there’s any compensation, but...” She stopped. The implication hung in the air like smoke. Lily felt the world tilt. For a moment she could not hear Mia properly; the words became muffled and far away, as if spoken from under water. “What?” she repeated, and this time the disb