Ashley's pulse tripped. "How…what…who gave her this address?" She asked rhetorically.
The bell rang again. Polite, patient. Not the media. Not the cousin. The mother.
Her phone buzzed in her palm. It was Julian, "My mother is on her way to you. I told her not to. I'm sorry."
Too late she muttered under her breath.
Even in crisis, Camila's pearl necklace caught the light like a polished bone. Her silk blouse was immaculate, her charcoal trousers tailored sharp enough to cut. She didn't look like a woman visiting her in-laws. She looked like the judge.
After exchanging pleasantries with her family curt and courteous, her gaze settled on Ashley, as her family exited the room giving them privacy.
"Mrs. Blackwood," Ashley greeted, rising automatically. Her voice sounded too soft to her own ears.
"Camila, please." The older woman's tone was velvet over steel. She removed her gloves one finger at a time, never breaking eye contact.
"Where is Julian?" Camila asked calmly, firing a cold look at her, as she placed her gloves neatly on the console table. She scanned the room with disinterest, as if she was cataloguing evidence.
"Has he eaten?" she asked again before she could respond to the first question.
"I…don't know, I'm not with him obviously" Ashley responded."
Exactly! And that's quite unfortunate." Camila's gaze flicked to her expensive ring.
"In this family, In our family, she corrected unprovoked, appearances aren't decoration, Ashley. They're like a shield. You don't wait until the walls are crumbling to find your shield and sword."
Ashley bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted to protest that she wasn't the one who leaked Blackwood's secrets, that she was being dragged into a war she didn't start. But she knew better than to argue with Camila Blackwood on this matter.
Camila lowered herself onto the sofa opposite Ashley, her posture perfect. "You're spending the night at your parents' house, it seems I judged you a bit too early yesterday. I didn't think you'd be the type to cower so easily over silly tabloid gossip."
The words were simple, but the judgment underneath them rang like a gavel.Ashley didn't know whether to apologise or just keep quiet, so she did the latter.
"You left your husband's side. In the middle of a scandal." Camila's voice softened, which somehow made it worse.
"Even a contract marriage is still a marriage. All marriages for God's sake…" she paused just long enough to let the air tighten between them, "...are contracts.
Some are written on paper, some on hearts, but they all carry obligations."
Ashley swallowed. A dozen defenses rose to her lips, how Julian hadn't called, except the text he sent warning her of her arrival.
How she'd felt unwanted, how the whole arrangement was just a deal. But each sounded childish in the face of Camila's composure. So she said nothing.
Camila studied her for a long moment, then offered a small, polite smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm not here to scold you. I'm here to make sure my family doesn't burn because of someone else's carelessness."Ashley bristled. "Do you think I'm…"
"I think," Camila interrupted smoothly, "That this leak from Blackwood wasn't random. Someone wants us scrambling. And the person behind this all isn't an amateur."
Ashley wanted to feel her in on the lead her family had generated but thought it best to inform Julian first. What if she was the Blackwood who had leaked the secret? Her fingers brushed an invisible speck of dust from her trousers. "I also think people underestimate you, Ashley. Perhaps even my son.
"It was the closest thing to a compliment Camila had ever given her,even though all her compliments so far were under handed.
So Ashley wasn't sure if it was real praise or a subtle accusation.
Camila leaned back, crossing her legs, as if she was letting her in on a secret.
"Do you know who benefits most from this chaos? "Ashley hesitated. "The board factions that have been circling Julian's chair for years?"A flicker of approval crossed Camila's face.
"Clever. But not clever enough. There's someone else, someone who understands Julian's patterns intimately. Someone who'd know where to strike." But Camila didn't elaborate. She let the implication hang, heavy as a storm cloud."
Julian's pride is both his strength and his flaw. He won't admit how close this cut has come." She tilted her head. "That makes it your job to be the steady one. Even if your marriage is just…paperwork."Ashley's pulse quickened.
She hated that part of her agreed. "What do you want me to do?""I'm asking you to stand beside your husband and fight!," Camila emphasised rather dramatically.
She felt strange hearing Julian been referred to as her husband. She was feeling like an impostor.
A moment of silence stretched between them, Ashley thought of the safety of her parents' house. Safe, warm, uncomplicated and felt the weight of the Blackwood name pressing down like a stormcloud.
She almost chuckled at the irony because a few weeks ago she'd exchanged the so-called Parent's house weight for his name.The protection, the guarantee and assurances it came with. Nothing was easy, she realised. You just had to pick your own hard.
Camila's eyes softened, just slightly. "I know this isn't what you bargained for. Believe it or not, I don't want this for Julian either." Her lips moved in a humorless smile. "But in this family, we play the long game."
She rose gracefully, smoothing her blouse, as she made to exit. At the door, she paused and glanced back.
"Ashley…when the wolves circle, you don't feed them scraps of weakness. You lock arms with your ally, even if that ally is only your husband on paper.
"Ashley nodded, though her throat felt tight.
Camila's gaze lingered a heartbeat too long, as if weighing something. Then she opened the door and stepped onto the porch. The soft click of her heels faded towards her driver and Car.
Ashley remained on the sofa, pulse still racing. Camila's words had sounded like wise advice, even maternal. But something about her calm, the way she'd slipped in that question about who benefits most, gnawed at Ashley. Was Camila here solely to protect her son and the company? Or had she come to plant seeds, to steer suspicion elsewhere, to probe for weaknesses?She sensed in their world, visits like this were all about moves on the board.
Ashley had the sinking feeling she'd just been played, even if she didn't yet understand the rules and how yet.