A Contract The Empire Couldn't Break
Beatrice said.
“No,” Lillian agreed. “It is not. And yet here it is.”
Silence fell again, heavier, angrier.
Lillian rubbed her hands together, grounding herself the way Sofia had taught her. She inhaled slowly, deliberately.
“I reject this,” she said again, calmer now. “Not the facts. The framing.”
Beatrice watched her closely. “Explain.”
“I am not your niece returned,” Lillian said. “I am not a legacy restored. I am not a problem you finally solved.”