The interior of the Rolls-Royce Phantom smelled of expensive leather, smoked cedar, and cold rain. The ambient lighting glowed a soft, icy blue against the polished walnut trim, casting long shadows across Damian Vescari’s sharp jawline.

Reporters pushed past security, thrusting microphones into Gavin’s pale face. Cameras flashed violently as questions flooded the room like a tidal wave.

"Mr. Mercer! Is it true you falsified patent documents?"

"Is Mercer Group facing bankruptcy by morning?"

"Miss Whitlock! Are you filing criminal fraud charges against your former fiancé?"

Gavin backed away, stumbling against a decorative ice sculpture. "This is a lie! A corporate hit job! Damian Vescari is trying to stage an illegal hostile takeover!"

"It’s not a takeover, Gavin," Elena said smoothly, taking a step toward him, her emerald gown whispering against the floor. "It’s a foreclosure."

Miriam grabbed Gavin’s arm, her voice shrill with panic. "Gavin! Do something! Call your lawyers! Tell them he’s lying!"

"Shut up, Miriam!" Gavin snapped, shoving her hand off his arm. The sudden aggression shocked the crowd. The image of the charming, refined executive vanished, revealing the frantic, cruel man beneath.

"Don't you raise your voice at me!" Miriam shouted back, her pride shattered in front of New York high society. "I put my family’s money into your company! If you lied about these patents, my father will destroy you!"

"Your family’s money?" Gavin spat, his eyes wild. "Your father didn't give me a dime until I showed him Elena’s designs! You knew I was using her work! You helped me keep her isolated so she wouldn't check the patent registries!"

A collective gasp swept through the room.

Miriam’s face turned bright red. "You bastard!" She swung her arm and slapped Gavin across the face with a loud, cracking sound that echoed through the ballroom.

The media went wild. Photographers captured every second of the breakdown. Live broadcasts across major financial networks were showing the young CEO of Mercer Group screaming at his socialite fiancée while being publicly bankrupt by Damian Vescari.

Elena watched the spectacle with a cold, serene quietness. Three days ago, she had been kneeling in the rain on a dark sidewalk, broken and barefoot. Tonight, the people who destroyed her were tearing each other apart on live television.

Gavin looked around, realizing he had just confessed in front of dozens of reporters and high-profile investors. He turned his eyes toward Elena, filled with venomous hatred.

"You think you’ve won?" Gavin whispered, lunging forward toward Elena. "You’re nothing without me, Elena! I made you! You were a nobody from upstate with a dead mother and a worthless degree!"

Before Gavin could reach her, Damian moved with blinding speed. He stepped between Gavin and Elena, catching Gavin by the throat with one hand and slamming him backward against the head table, shattering glass and spilling red wine everywhere.

"Touch her again," Damian hissed in a voice that sent a chill through everyone in the room, "and you won't live long enough to see the inside of a prison cell."

Damian let go, letting Gavin collapse into the mess of shattered glass and red wine.