he Decker family's private villa in Beverly Hills, Bla

quined designer dresses lay st

t commands the stage!" she muttered to her

e hall, the door to the small guest bedroom Kinsley had used d

hed the d

wood vanity table, resting inside an open leather travel tray, lay a vin

historic piece universally recognized among Manhattan's elite as the symbol of the Decker family matriarch. Kinsley had

he vanity, her breath

icy against her skin. She strapped it onto her left

her an immediate, unmistakab

ile stretching her lips. "She's working as an errand girl now anyway

dome of the security camera blinking silently in the corner of the ceiling molding. Kinsley had installed the private camera month

versal Studios soundstage. Her floor-length crimson gown hugged every curve, and she delibe

neral admission line shouted in protest as Blair byp

esk, tossing her credential form on

son. Number

dinator hesitated, gl

ryone is assigned

an instruction came through from the production booth. She blinked, n

nt that Christian's fifty million dollars had already forced the producers to bend the knee. When the stage

. Ten high-definition monitors glowed in the darkness, showing live feeds of the s

t her phone. A fifteen-second clip showed Blair taking the vintage Patek Philippe from the guest room vanity and stra

from beside her chair. "If the broadcast starts wi

her hand, her amber eyes gl

ter. The higher she climbs right n

.. three million... five million concurrent viewers within sixty seconds. Above the arena floor, anot

a lights

light, radiant in crimson, her left hand lifted dramatically toward her collarbone,

ey's finger hovered over t

resse

ircus," Ki