Chapter 17
Lizzy smiled a perfectly rehearsed smile for the cameras as she sat across from The Show. She wore a shimmering gold dress that hugged every curve of her body and accentuated her beautifully styled blond hair. No one would be able to tell that she had been practicing her side of the interview for the past three days. Her charisma was shining bright tonight. But everything had to be perfect for her coming out party, with no slip-ups or embarrassments. Her laugh had the right amount of playfulness as The Show finished his final question, and her response was folksy yet poised. “Oh gosh, I’d never dreamed of being an All-Star. But of course, I was delighted when called upon. It just shows that if you keep your head down and put in the work consistently, you’ll succeed!”
The Show smiled as the multitude of cameras circled the two, ensuring as much coverage as possible while avoiding his “bad side.” “You are the epitome of everything a Herald should be, Horizon. You certainly were raised right!” he followed up.
Lizzy caught herself indulging in the praise for half a second too long but quickly recovered. “Thank you, sir. My mom instilled a healthy work ethic in me from a young age, that's for sure.” Lizzy smiled.
“There you have it! Horizon! Our first All-Star! I bet you can’t wait to see who else we have lined up, America. Our next All-Star will be revealed after the break.” Flint seamlessly shifted out of his “Show” persona, relaxing slightly once the red light extinguished to indicate the cameras were no longer live. He turned to Lizzy, “Thank you, Horizon. Please enjoy your evening. And thank you for working with my team to organize this fine event. It’s above and beyond all my wildest expectations.”
“Of course! I was truly honored to be the first All-Star announced to the world.” Lizzy stood up and shook The Show’s hand before stepping off the small stage set up along the back wall of windows in the Loft. Lizzy paused to scan the party that was now in full swing. She noticed Ken standing near the apartment's entrance with a few of his fellow challengers. Leave it to her cousin to be perfectly on time. She glided over to chat with him.
“Hello, Elizabeth. This is my roommate and friend Jax and his sister June,” Ken said.
“Please, call me Lizzy. And I’m very familiar with your friends' exploits, both in and out of the competition.” The insinuation was barely hidden.
The comment didn’t phase Jax. He had heard it all before. “Thanks! We are pretty badass,” he responded to the implied barb while looking over at Ken, who was doing a piss poor job of hiding his embarrassment at his cousin’s words.
“Badass indeed! I, for one, am glad The Show didn’t have any qualifiers for entry to the contest. I would have hated to have missed out on your masterful performance in The Culling simply due to the plethora of scandals involving your family over the last few years. Everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Isn’t that right, Kenny?” Lizzy only called her cousin “Kenny” in front of others.
Jax experienced a quick flash of anger but settled down just as fast as he had been dealing with these types of interactions for so long. Before he could respond, Ken jumped in, gripping his cousin’s exposed shoulder like a vice. “Very nice, Lizzy. Tactful as ever.” One at a time, he turned to look Jax and June dead in the eyes, “I am sure my cousin is just impressed with your performance. Coming out of The Culling in second and third place on the leaderboard is a considerable achievement for the two of you.”
“Thanks, man.” Jax was looking at his feet now, attempting to deflect attention.
Lizzy pulled away slightly, nimbly escaping Ken’s grip and shuffling away from the group. “Well, enjoy your party. Celebrations like these will be in short supply as the intensity of the competition ramps up. Ta-ta.” Not wanting to linger too long and let her reputation be ruined by being seen talking to the Bradleys, she shuffled off to mingle elsewhere. Lizzy was a master at ending an interaction so as to get the final word in.
As she moved about the party, Lizzy accidentally bumped into a regal woman talking to a group of United States Senators.
“And I’m so happy we were able to work together on the banking bill Senator Wollsley. Lessening the regulations has definitely freed us up to invest more aggressively,” the woman said.
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Elizabeth Morgan knew that voice anywhere. “Hello, mother. I didn’t realize you were going to be able to attend tonight. I thought you were still at the Grand Prix in Monaco.”
“Excuse my daughter, Senators. I’m sure I taught her manners, like not interrupting conversations unless it is a life-or-death situation. It was a pleasure running into you both. Please pardon me. I’d like to catch up with my daughter here,” Mrs. Morgan’s plastic smile never faded as she extricated Lizzy and herself from the conversation. She eyed her daughter up and down once they had separated enough to be out of earshot. “Hello, sweetie. I see my glam squad has done well for the evening. This party is quite the affair.”
“Yes, mother. Thank you for allowing your team to help plan this on short notice. I figured it would be good for the press to see the Morgan family hosting such an important and exclusive event.”
“Indeed. Although it would have been nice to have been invited officially since, by extension, I am one of the hosts, after all. But, none of that. Show me your room! I’d love to see where my daughter is living these days!”
Lizzy knew that her mom had no desire to see her room. She just wanted somewhere private, away from the cameras, so that the honest criticism could begin. “Oh, silly me. Would you like a tour of the loft?”
“Darling, I designed the loft.” Jasmine Morgan drew out the “i” in “designed” for effect. “I just want to see where you lay your head each night and have some privacy to catch up with my only daughter. It’s been so long since we’ve talked.”
“Follow me.” Lizzy had plastered her own fake smile on and gestured to her mom to follow her to the girls’ wing of bedrooms that were on the second floor off to the left. “How was your flight, mother? How long is it? Nine hours?” She hated the small talk but knew that her mom would only get more angry if Lizzy pressed her about anything before they had the appropriate amount of privacy.
“We actually just bought a new plane that is able to travel at twice the speed. I wish transcontinental teleportation were possible. Alas, a 5-hour flight from Monaco to Eden is the best option right now. But the flight was fine. Thank you for asking.”
The two women turned a corner, entering the girls' wing of the loft. Lizzy tapped a card against a digital reader next to the first door on the left, unlocking it. They entered a beautiful bedroom with a four-poster walnut bed and matching writing desk. It was spotless, decorated with tasteful contemporary artwork on the walls. A bench sat at the foot of the bed, and Lizzy pulled an armchair over from the corner for her mother to sit in while they caught up. Lizzy sat on the bench but maintained perfect posture to show her mother due respect.
Jasmine Morgan took out a small device that looked like a key fob and clicked it twice. The floating micro-cameras that followed the two into the room dropped to the floor like marbles. “There we go. The cameras will reset in about 10 minutes, but until then, we won't have anyone peeping in on us. I will never understand why you insisted on being a part of this sideshow. Tell me, why did I see you talking to those Bradley twins for so long? If pictures of you, your cousin, and those traitors get out, the press will have a field day.”
“It was just for a moment, mother. I was just making sure all of the newbies…sorry, the new challengers who survived The Culling were greeted at the party that I was asked to throw for them. And trust me, I made my displeasure at their presence known. Very nicely, of course.”
“Well, that's the issue, isn’t it,” Jasmine responded, “I don’t trust you. There have been too many instances where you and your cousin have chosen your wishes over the family’s. I thought you were past all of that.”
“Mother! I am past all of that. I have heard what you have said. Just because I wanted to enter this competition so we could be on The Council together doesn’t mean I don’t understand and support the family’s desires and goals. I wish you would believe me.” Lizzy looked at her feet. She was tired of constantly repeating this conversation with her mother. Why couldn’t her mom see that she wasn’t a kid anymore?
“Actions speak louder than words, Elizabeth. Luckily, this circus should provide many opportunities for you to prove yourself… and your loyalties. I will be watching intently from afar.” Jasmine stood up, and her daughter followed a moment after.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t let you down. And I will ensure no pictures get out of me and the Bradleys. I can’t promise that Ken will do the same, but I’m not going to embarrass you.”
“That boy is his father’s son. Let him sink himself. I’ve already put some things in place to distance ourselves from my sister and her family if I see anything that might sully our good name.” Jasmine Morgan opened the bedroom door and turned back to her beautiful, poised daughter. She plastered her smile back on her face and, with the sweetest tone she could muster, said, “Good luck, my sweet girl. I have all the faith in the world that you will do what must be done in order to achieve greatness in the competition. I love you, darling.”
Lizzy smiled, watched her mother leave the bedroom, closed the door behind her, and burst into tears.