As she walked out, the image of Grace slamming her phone down was still vivid in the assistant’s mind. Just thinking about it left him uneasy.

But he couldn’t tell Aurora any of this. What if she refused to go see Grace? Then he’d be the one in trouble.

With that in mind, the assistant’s smile toward her grew even more ingratiating.

Aurora narrowed her eyes slightly. Something felt off, but she didn’t press it. After all, this was her mother. What could really be wrong?

That thought made her pick up the pace, eventually walking so fast she left the assistant trailing behind.

He didn’t say a word, just smiled even wider.

“Well then, Ms. Walton, I’ve passed the message. I’ll leave you to find the chairwoman yourself.”

Aurora nodded. “Sure, I know where her office is. No need to walk me.”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say,” the assistant muttered under his breath, then bolted away like he’d just been released from duty.

Aurora found it odd, but didn’t dwell on it. Maybe he really was in a hurry for something else… She shook her head, trying to dismiss the nagging feeling.

Standing outside Grace’s office, she knocked on the door.

There was no response.

Aurora frowned slightly, puzzled.

She waited patiently, but after standing there for nearly ten minutes, she started to feel something wasn’t right.

She raised her hand and knocked again. This time, five more minutes passed before she finally heard a voice from inside.

In those minutes of silence, Aurora had figured it out.

Grace was doing this on purpose, making her wait outside as a show of power. There was no other reason to leave her standing that long. It was clear now that Grace wasn’t calling her here for a chat. She was coming in hot.

Aurora had a strong feeling she was about to be scolded, hard. The only thing she didn’t know was—what had she supposedly done wrong this time?

That thought darkened her expression. Wasn’t this always how it went with her mother? Whenever something happened, Aurora was always the first person she blamed.

When she entered the office, Grace was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, not busy with work at all.

Aurora addressed her politely. “Madam Grace, you asked to see me?”

“The documents are on the desk. Read them yourself.”

Aurora didn’t flinch. She picked up the papers and scanned through them. The moment she saw the headline, she nearly laughed.

“Madam Grace, I already explained everything clearly at the family banquet. Can’t you see this is a targeted smear campaign?”

Grace let out a cold snort. “I know you explained it. But if you hadn’t sparked the gossip in the first place, would any of this have happened?"

“And besides, if you truly had nothing to hide, what could they possibly accuse you of?”

Aurora looked at her mother’s stern expression and felt a cold spread in her chest. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Handle it. Immediately.” Grace slapped the documents down in front of her.