Chapter 6 - The Masquerade
The Annual Charity Gala was the very event I had been banned from, but a well-timed donation and the right connections ensured I had an invitation. I didn't come as a grieving ex-fiancée; I came as a woman reborn. I wore a gown that was a statement of power, my hair pulled back with surgical precision.
The room was filled with people who, a week ago, had been whispering behind my back. Now, they were deathly silent as I walked through the ballroom.
Celeste was there, looking brittle but defiant. She had hired bodyguards, thinking she could intimidate me. I spent the first half of the evening playing the role of the 'shattered socialite,' sipping champagne and allowing people to offer their patronizing sympathy.
"Oh, Eleanor," Celeste purred, cornering me by the terrace. "Such a shame about the wedding. Adrian is devastated. You really should have listened to him."
"I did listen, Celeste," I said, leaning in close, my voice a whisper of steel. "That was the problem."
While I kept her occupied, Julian was already in her private study, bypassing the security systems with the codes I’d managed to extract from Adrian’s laptop. I checked my watch. 10:15 PM. Julian had ten minutes.
Celeste started to grow suspicious as I kept talking in circles, but I pulled out a trump card—a fake offer to settle the lawsuit for half the total amount, contingent on her signing a document I had in my hand. Her greed flared in her eyes. She snatched the document, distracted.
At 10:25 PM, my phone buzzed. Found it.
May you like
I smiled at Celeste, a cold, sharp expression. "Keep the offer, Celeste. You're going to need it for your legal defense."
I walked away, leaving her standing in the middle of the ballroom, clutching a blank contract, as I headed toward the exit and the future I was finally beginning to control.
