Upon hearing everything they had just said, Cora took a slow, deep breath and finally stepped forward. Her voice was calm, but there was no mistaking the sharp edge in her tone. She looked directly at them not with fear, not with desperation but with the kind of collected confidence that made everyone fall silent almost instantly.
"I'm not the kind of woman who stands still and watches while people throw baseless accusations at her," Cora began, her eyes locking with Victoria's first, then Abigail's. "And I'm certainly not someone who has all the time in the world to waste on pointless drama. I have businesses to run, contracts to oversee, and people who actually respect my time."
She let those words sink in. The entire room, though still, felt heavy with tension. Even the air seemed to pause.
