Chapter 4 - The Gala of Ash
The grand ballroom of the Sterling Grand Hotel was packed with the city’s billionaires, celebrities, and politicians. Tonight was the official unveiling of Sterling Phoenix, the new tech and infrastructure conglomerate that had risen from the ashes of Vale Enterprises.
I stood at the top of the grand staircase, wearing a stunning, backless midnight-blue gown. The faint scars on my back were proudly on display, not as a sign of shame, but as victory stripes.
At the bottom of the stairs, standing among the waiters and looking utterly pathetic, was Adrian.
My father had intentionally pulled some strings to ensure Adrian was allowed past security, wearing a faded, off-the-rack suit he had managed to keep. He looked gaunt, bags under his eyes, his once-flawless hair messy and unkempt.
As I walked down the stairs, the crowd parted, bowing and whispering in admiration. Adrian pushed through the crowd, his eyes wide with a mixture of desperation, regret, and residual arrogance.
"Elena!" he cried out, trying to grab my arm.
Before he could touch me, two seven-foot-tall Sterling bodyguards intercepted him, pinning him to the spot.
"Let him speak," I said calmly, gesturing to the guards.
Adrian fell to his knees right there in front of the entire high society. "Elena, please! Look at me! I was wrong! Vanessa tricked me, she lied about the baby, she manipulated my anger! I always loved you! Remember our three years together? I was just stressed about the business! Please, tell your father to stop the lawsuits. I’m facing twenty years in prison for the domestic abuse charges. You can't do this to your husband!"
The entire ballroom went dead silent. Everyone was watching the spectacular fall of the city’s former golden boy.
I walked up to him, looking down at his pathetic, groveling form. "Husband? The man who struck me twenty times is not my husband. He was a parasite living off the invisible grace of my family."
"Elena, I can make it up to you!" Adrian begged, reaching for the hem of my dress. "I’ll be your servant! I’ll do anything! Just give me back my life!"
"Your life was an illusion, Adrian," I said, my voice echoing through the microphone held by my assistant. "You thought you were a king, but you were just a puppet allowed to play in my father's sandbox. Tonight, the puppet's strings are completely cut."
Right at that moment, four federal marshals walked into the ballroom. They marched straight toward Adrian.
May you like
"Adrian Vale," the lead marshal announced. "Your bail has been revoked due to new evidence of corporate fraud and witness tampering discovered during the Sterling Phoenix audit. You are under arrest."
Adrian screamed as they hoisted him up, dragging him out of the gala in front of every investor he had ever tried to impress. He looked back at me, crying out my name, but I had already turned my back on him.
