The room froze for a heartbeat. Every head turned toward the doorway.

A striking woman stepped in with the kind of confidence that owned every space she entered. Red hair spilled loose over her shoulders, the black dress hugging an elegant silhouette, and her smile carried a dangerous cocktail of charm and defiance. Her eyes—identical to Liam’s—sparked with that same untamed insolence that neither time nor distance had ever managed to tame.

For a second, no one spoke. Then Liam broke into a wid