Chapter 4 - THE GALA OF GHOSTS
One month later,
the Waldorf Astoria was hosting the annual Winter Gala,
the most prestigious event on the Manhattan social calendar.
The Whitmores were there,
trying to pretend that the "wedding scandal" had never happened.
Nathan was standing in the center of the room,
holding a glass of champagne and laughing with a group of investors,
though he looked thinner,
more frantic.
Veronica was at his side,
wearing a dress that was far too revealing,
desperately trying to claim the spot that had once been mine.
The room fell silent when the double doors at the top of the grand staircase swung open.
Dante Moretti entered first,
looking like a king returning from a conquest.
And on his arm,
dressed in a gown of midnight black that shimmered with every step,
was me.
I had my hair swept back in a sharp,
modern style,
and the diamonds around my neck were a gift from Dante—a weight that felt like a promise.
I didn't look like the girl whose dress had been cut open.
I looked like the woman who owned the room.
We descended the stairs slowly,
the whispers following us just as they had in the cathedral,
but this time,
they weren't whispers of pity.
They were whispers of fear.
Nathan’s glass slipped from his hand,
shattering on the floor with a sharp,
crystalline ring.
I walked straight toward him,
my heels clicking on the marble with the precision of a ticking clock.
“Elena?”
he stammered,
his face turning a sickly shade of gray.
“What are you doing here?
With him?”
I stopped inches away from him,
noticing the way his hand was shaking.
“I came to return something of yours,
Nathan,”
I said,
reaching into my clutch.
I pulled out a flash drive and set it on the table beside him.
“It’s a copy of the files I just sent to the District Attorney.”
Veronica stepped forward,
her face contorted with rage.
“You wouldn't dare,”
she hissed.
“You’re nothing without us!
You’re a seamstress from a nobody family!”
I looked at her,
and for the first time,
I felt nothing but boredom.
“Actually,”
Dante said,
stepping up behind me and placing a hand on the small of my back.
“She is the majority shareholder of Whitmore Enterprises as of four o'clock this afternoon.”
The color drained from Nathan’s face so quickly I thought he might faint.
“How?”
he gasped.
“I bought up the debt your father was trying to hide,”
Dante explained,
his voice smooth and cruel.
“And I gifted the controlling interest to the woman who actually knows how to run the company.”
I lean in close to Nathan,
whispering so only he could hear.
“You should have defended me at the altar,
Nathan.
It would have been much cheaper.”
I turned away,
leaving them to face the photographers who were now swarming toward them,
sensing the blood in the water.
May you like
The empire was falling,
and I was the one who had pulled the final thread.
