The Flower That Grew from Ashes novel Chapter 99

At exactly 2:00 PM, the lights in the grand hall dimmed once again.

The soaring orchestral music was replaced by the slow, haunting notes of a traditional stringed instrument, echoing softly through the massive space.

On the stage, the lavish floral walls and modern decorations had been completely cleared away.

In the dead center sat a single, intricately carved antique mahogany armchair.

The Lehman family's "gratitude ceremony" had officially begun.

Lizzie had swapped her vibrant purple gown for a far more somber, heavily embroidered dark brown traditional dress.

Flanked by two attendants, she walked slowly and deliberately up the steps, taking her seat in the armchair—the ultimate symbol of matriarchal power within the Lehman dynasty.

Her face was set into an expression of absolute, untouchable authority.

Momentarily, under the heavy gaze of the elite crowd, Clarissa walked onto the stage holding Manuel.

Manuel was dressed immaculately in a custom-tailored black miniature tuxedo, complete with a tiny bowtie. He looked adorably bewildered, his big, dark eyes scanning the sea of strangers.

Clarissa carried him over to Lizzie. She smoothed out the heavy skirts of her diamond-encrusted gown, and with a graceful, practiced motion, dropped directly to her knees.

The way she knelt was breathtakingly calculated.

The angle at which she hit the floor was designed perfectly to fan out her massive train into a flawless, dramatic half-circle behind her.

It screamed humility, but it was dripping with highly choreographed, theatrical perfection.

Then, still holding Manuel, she performed the grueling kneeling vow.

It was the most archaic, draconian rule in the Lehman family's history—a demand for absolute submission.

Only a woman fully recognized as the true lady of the Lehman Estate was ever permitted to perform this excruciating ritual upon entering the family.

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