Chapter 2 - the sound of tearing paper
The silence in the ballroom was absolute. In a room full of the most powerful people in America, nobody breathed. They only watched.
Vincent Romano did not curse. He did not cry out. He simply kept his eyes fixed on the floor for a long, heavy second. The bright lights of the chandeliers reflected off the polished silver handle of his fallen cane. Slowly, with a terrifying, mechanical deliberate grace, his large hand reached out and grasped the cane.
He planted the rubber tip against the expensive carpet. The muscles in his broad shoulders flexed beneath the charcoal fabric of his suit. With a slow, steady push, Vincent got back to his feet. He didn't brush the dust off his knees. He didn't adjust his tie. He simply stood there, towering over Celeste despite his slight hunch, his face a mask of absolute, unreadable calm.
Celeste felt a strange, momentary prickle of unease at the back of her neck, but her arrogance quickly swallowed it. She was a Harrington. She owned this city.
She snatched the gold-foiled auction invitation from the small table next to where he had been sitting. She looked at the generic placeholder name printed on the front. Her lips curled into a sneer of pure disgust.
"The front row is for donors," Celeste said, her voice dripping with cold condescension. It echoed perfectly in the quiet room, every syllable crisp and mocking. "Not poor people."
Vincent just looked at her. His eyes, dark and weathered, gave absolutely nothing away. It was like looking into a deep, black well.
Taking his silence for submission, Celeste’s smirk widened. She gripped the thick, expensive cardstock of the invitation in both hands. With a sharp, dramatic rip, she tore the invitation straight down the middle.
The sound of the tearing paper was loud in the quiet room. She dropped the two pieces, letting them flutter down to land directly onto the toes of Vincent’s polished black shoes.
"Your name," Celeste said mockingly, stepping just an inch closer to his face, "means nothing here. Now, find the exit before I have security throw you out into the street."
May you like
She turned on her diamond-studded heel, her emerald gown swishing elegantly, ready to walk away and return to her adoring public. She expected him to shrink away into the shadows. She expected him to be utterly broken.
She was wrong.
