บททั้งหมดของ When the Queen Forgot: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 27

The formal program dissolved into music and conversation. Servers moved effortlessly between tables, setting down the next course and refilling glasses as the ballroom settled into its next rhythm.Around the hall, guests rose to greet old acquaintances, introduce business partners, and exchange quiet words beneath the glow of crystal chandeliers.For the first time that evening, Lana finally allowed herself to relax.Beside her, Ida leaned in, eyes wide as she took in the room. “I’m afraid to touch anything.”Lana smiled faintly, still watching the movement around them. “You’ll be fine. Just don’t sit there starving.”Ida lowered her voice. “I keep thinking I’ll pick up the wrong fork and embarrass myself.”“You won’t.”“How do you know?”“Because you’re overthinking it,” Lana said simply.Ida glanced at the table setting again. “I’ve never seen this many forks in my life.”Lana gave a soft laugh. “Start from the outside and work your way in.”“And here I was wondering if it was the

Inside the ladies’ room, Lana’s breathing slowed as the sedative took hold. The world around her blurred at the edges, sound thinning into something distant and unreal. Her knees weakened, and she barely registered the moment her body gave in.Outside, the woman who had followed her in left without urgency. She straightened her posture, composed and unremarkable, and stepped back into the corridor. A passing guard gave her a brief, polite glance. She returned it with a calm nod and continued on her way.Within seconds, she was lost in the flow of guests. No one remembered her face.A faint, satisfied smile touched her lips as she disappeared into the crowd. Her task had never been to abduct Lana Vitale or to kill her. It had been simpler, and more dangerous.To plant doubt. A question that would not fade once it took root.Several minutes passed.Inside the ballroom, the orchestra shifted into a softer piece. Crystal glasses clinked, conversations rose and fell in elegant rhythm, and

Morning light spilled through the hospital windows, soft and pale over the quiet suite. Outside, the city was already awake, but inside everything remained still.Lana sat propped against the pillows, looking better than she had the night before.Dr. Salvatore closed her chart. “You’ve responded well to treatment. Rest a few more days, but you’re cleared to go home.”“Thank you, Doctor,” Lana said softly.Home should have felt simple, but it didn’t.The memory returned uninvited, the woman in the restroom, calm and certain, as if she had spoken truth instead of poison.They are hiding things from you.Lana closed her eyes briefly.Her father, Emilio, ruled a world built on loyalty and blood. Her parents had trusted him completely.Luciano Marcone didn’t gamble with trust. If he had placed his daughter under Emilio’s protection, it was because he believed Emilio would never fail her.That was what the stranger didn’t understand.And yet the woman’s words had been deliberate and precise

The Heritage Cup Charity Polo Gala was one of San Aurelio’s oldest traditions.Held each spring by the Valdorian Heritage Foundation, it raised millions for hospitals, scholarships, medical research, and disaster relief. Newspapers called it a celebration of generosity, while cameras captured polished speeches, elegant guests, and the polo match.To the public, it was philanthropy at its finest.In reality, it was something else.It was one of the few times each year when Valdoria’s most powerful families gathered outside the council chamber. Business was never spoken of openly, but beneath polite conversation, alliances were reinforced, investments aligned, and political futures quietly shaped.Everything looked effortless. Nothing was accidental.The San Aurelio Polo Club spread across green fields under a warm spring sky. White marquees lined the grounds as guests moved between the clubhouse and pavilion, champagne in hand and laughter kept polite.At one end of the pavilion, the o