Hearing the mention of the Hoggart family on the broadcast, Harley and Annika also turned their attention to the TV. The moment they saw Yardley Hoggart pulling Starla into a protective embrace, they both went rigid.
The air in the cramped apartment turned suffocatingly still.
Xenia exchanged a panicked glance with Darleen. "Mom... Mom, that woman Yardley Hoggart is holding... is that Starla?"
The footage only showed a side profile, making Xenia question her own eyes. Her voice trembled violently.
Yardley Hoggart. The man whose family controlled half the globe's economic pulse. How on earth could he be associated with Starla?
Xenia suddenly recalled the recent rumors about Starla and Kael Shipley, an executive at the Hoggart Group. Back then, they had also seemed incredibly close.
No... no, Starla and Kael had never been *this* physically affectionate in public.
But now, the absolute ruler of the Hoggart family had personally picked her up from the airport and pulled her into a hug?
Darleen's breathing hitched, her face turning a ghastly shade of pale. Even after the TV cut to a different segment, her eyes remained locked on the screen, a terrifying realization clicking into place.
"It's her. It's her," Darleen stammered, her lips trembling.
She was certain. The woman Yardley had embraced was Starla. She hated the girl with such a fiery passion that she would recognize her silhouette anywhere. Besides, she distinctly remembered Starla wearing that exact same dress back at the Yelchin estate.
The last shred of color vanished from Xenia's face. "It really is her."
She had desperately wanted to be wrong, to believe it was a mistake. But hearing her mother confirm it shattered whatever denial she had left.
"How does she have this kind of power?" Xenia's voice shook. "What is her relationship with Yardley Hoggart?"

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