Chapter 5 - Voices from the DarkAbsolute silence fell over the five-hundred-person ballroom. You could hear a pin drop on the marble floor.
Celeste’s face lost all its color, turning the stark white of a ghost. “Adrian... what are you doing? Don’t joke around in front of our guests—!”
Adrian pressed play.
Instantly, the crystal-clear audio recording began broadcasting through the massive surround-sound speakers of the grand ballroom:
“Once we marry, the cripple will sign whatever I put in front of him.”
“A weak king is still a king, Julian, and I’ll be the one holding the crown.”
“He’s pathetic. Pushing his wheelchair ruins my designer gowns, but it’s a small price to pay for absolute wealth.”
The voice echoed across the hall—unmistakable, arrogant, and dripping with venomous contempt.
Minister Sterling dropped his whiskey glass; it shattered against the marble floor with a sharp, explosive crash. Julian Arden bolted upright from his seat, his face contorted in sheer panic.
Celeste stood paralyzed at the podium, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly like a fish stranded on dry land. “N-No! That’s fake! It’s AI-generated! It’s a trick—!”
Adrian clicked pause. The silence returned, heavier and more suffocating than before.
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He slowly lifted his gaze from the microphone and looked straight into Celeste’s terrified eyes.
“It’s not a trick, Celeste,” Adrian said softly. “It’s the truth. You thought I was broken. You thought a wheelchair made me blind to your greed. But all it did was show me who you truly were.”
