Chapter 7 - Secrets of the Bloodline
By 8:00 PM, the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel was packed with New York’s elite. Photographers' flashes exploded like strobe lights along the red carpet, and high-society chatter filled the vaulted hall.
I stepped out of the black limousine wearing a midnight-blue silk gown that hugged every curve, my hair styled in elegant waves. Beside me, Mia looked like a little fairy tale princess in a soft cream dress with a small silver tiara.
And at my side was Adrian, devastatingly handsome in a classic black tuxedo.
As we walked into the ballroom hand in hand, the room went dead silent. Cameras pivoted toward us instantly. The "disgraced employee" and the "cold billionaire" were walking into the lion’s den together, presenting an unbroken front.
Across the room, standing near a towering champagne pyramid, was Julian Sterling.
He looked just as smooth and arrogant as the day he abandoned me. Dressed in a slick suit, holding a glass of scotch, he was holding court with a group of wealthy investors. But the moment his eyes landed on me—and then shifted down to the six-year-old girl holding my hand—his smirking expression shattered.
“Clara,” Adrian murmured softly in my ear, his breath warm against my neck. “Are you ready?”
“I’ve waited five years for this,” I whispered back.
We walked straight toward Julian. The crowd parted around us like the Red Sea, sensing the explosive tension.
Julian tried to recover his composure, plastering a fake, predatory smile on his face as we approached.
“Clara,” Julian said, his tone dripping with condescension. “I see you’ve managed to climb the corporate ladder. And you brought... the child.”
Mia squeezed my hand, shrinking back slightly behind my dress. Adrian stepped forward immediately, his broad body partially blocking Julian from Mia’s view.
“Her name is Mia,” Adrian said, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying register. “And you will address her—and her mother—with respect, Sterling. Or this evening will end very painfully for you.”
Julian chuckled nervously, attempting to glance at the nearby reporters who were leaning in to catch every word. “Adrian, please. This is a business event. We all know Vanguard is unveiling the line of the decade tonight. It’s unfortunate that Clara’s... technical mistakes led to your firm losing the rights.”
“Is that what you told your board?” I spoke up, stepping out from behind Adrian, holding my head high. “That you stole my designs?”
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“Stole?” Julian scoffed loudly, raising his voice for the surrounding crowd. “Clara, you were desperate. You offered Vanguard the blueprints in exchange for financial support. Don't play the victim now.”
The crowd gasped. Murmurs broke out among the socialites. Julian was trying to destroy my character in front of the entire upper crust of Manhattan.
