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,

much of what Quentin had

Carmen's efforts as well.

how dark the world got, Grace was determined to

But right now, there was

paralyzed.

sharpening with resolve.

and admit our wrongdoing. Make it clear

it, but he's already

won't cover for him, and we

wanted to see

harder

it was better to face it head-on by being honest, issuing

and putting some money toward helping

like this.

Lambert family was already on shaky ground. With that plot

were cash-strapped as

a five-million-dollar donation. It wasn't

her through Yancey a few days ago as

what happened with Jodie.

and the donation was made, everything

hours, Lambert Group

wiped clean, and a wave

to key positions.

the very least, it sent a clear message. The new CEO

there to play

decided to take

six hours had passed.

her, it felt like six centuries. The

that her iron-fisted response-paired with

successfully redirected public

company, people were now praising Liam for having

sister like her.

was ready to tear into them, but honestly? She handled

right."

attitude's been solid. The official statement wasn't some half-assed

company is reportedly broke, she still

shift in her

Sebastian had barely slept over the

every uptick and

public first, the person behind the initial

were now starting to wonder if

the same person who set Liam

weren't so

public eye, Grace wasted no

meeting.

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

present had risen through the ranks under Grace's

sat by

calm and

few hours, she had

gone through the company's

upcoming project proposals. Every

them was

profitable, if at

her hand, she cut

protest, but after catching the look on

sharp-they quietly