Regret Came Too Late

After leaving the hospital, Grace glanced up at the gray, overcast sky, feeling like

her heart was wrapped in the same heavy haze.

She drove straight to Lambert Group, and the senior executives who now followed

her lead hurried out to meet her.

"Ms. Lambert, have you found Mr. Lambert yet?"

Just then, Sebastian pushed the door open.

Grace was surprised to see him. "I thought you were at the hospital with your

family," she said.

Sebastian frowned, and there was a hint of unease in his voice. "After you called

me, I had a bad feeling. What's going on?"

Grace motioned for the others to leave, keeping only Sebastian behind. He had

worked with Quentin for years and had helped Liam without complaint. He was

someone she could trust.

She quickly filled him in on what had happened with Liam, then showed him the

scandal online. It was obvious the person behind it was deliberately dragging

things out, waiting for the right moment to push Liam's scandal to the top of social

media.

Once it hit number one, they would expose everything.

And when that happened, it wouldn't just destroy Liam. The entire company would

become public enemy number one.

At this point, Grace knew there was only one move left.

She looked up and locked eyes with Sebastian. The understanding in his gaze

was immediate.

Sebastian said solemnly, "Ms. Lambert, you have to step up and take the CEO

position. It's the only way to calm the public."

"What had happened crossed a line-not just for the country but for the people. It

didn't matter if Liam had been led astray.

"Wrong was wrong, and mistakes came with consequences.

Grace tugged lightly at the corner of her mouth. The reason she had helped push

Liam into that position in the first place was because Carmen had always been

wary of her, suspecting she was after the Lambert family's wealth.

Carmen had never treated Grace kindly. But when it came to Quentin and Liam,

of what Quentin had

Carmen's efforts as well.

Grace was determined to

there was no other

paralyzed.

her gaze sharpening with resolve. "Alright, let's do it

and admit our

but he's already been

and we won't excuse his

more often than not, just wanted to

suppress a scandal, the harder it

to face it head-on by being

toward helping the police

like this.

ground. With that plot

they were cash-strapped

made a five-million-dollar donation. It

Yancey a few days ago as hush

what happened with Jodie.

statement went out and the donation was made, everything

just three hours, Lambert Group underwent a brutal internal

were wiped clean, and a

to key positions.

the very least, it sent a clear message. The new CEO wasn't afraid to

there

moment Grace decided to take control of everything

six hours had passed.

like six centuries. The only thing keeping her grounded was

response-paired

successfully redirected public

people were

sister like her.

to tear into them, but honestly?

right."

The official statement wasn't some half-assed

the company is reportedly broke, she

shift in her favor, Grace finally

and Sebastian had barely slept over the past six hours, staying glued to

tracking every uptick and

to go public first,

starting to wonder if the

everything was the same person who

weren't so easy to manipulate

in the public eye, Grace wasted

meeting.

of Edric's loyalists had already packed up and left. Aside from a handful of

everyone present had risen through the ranks under Grace's

by the

calm and

hours, she had

gone through the company's

upcoming project proposals. Every

of them was

if at

wave of her

protest, but after

and sharp-they quietly