CHAPTER 71 A New Plan

  Layla Martine stood before the towering mirror, her blue eyes scanning the reflection with a critical gaze. The platinum waves of her hair framed her face perfectly, and the body-hugging dress she had chosen for the evening was nothing short of a statement. It screamed power, wealth, sophistication- everything she needed to exude.

  "Perfection," she murmured to herself, though the word was steeped in expectation rather than admiration.

  "Of course it is," Layla said aloud, addressing her own reflection as if it were an audience waiting on her every word. "Anything less would be unacceptable."

  She swirled a diamond bracelet around her wrist, the stones catching the light and sending prisms dancing across the room. The glint seemed to ignite something within her, a fiery determination that had been temporarily overshadowed by recent events.