Chapter 5 - the walk to the throne
The silence in the grand ballroom was so absolute that the distant hum of the hotel's climate control system sounded like a roaring engine.
Adrian began to walk.
He didn't head toward the stage. He took two steps closer to VIP Table One. Every executive at the table leaned back in their chairs as far as humanly possible, desperate to make themselves invisible, terrified that the collateral damage of Adrian’s wrath would sweep them away as well.
Adrian stopped right beside Vanessa’s chair.
The powerful Senior Vice President was paralyzed. Her aristocratic posture had completely collapsed. She shrank back into the velvet cushions of her seat, her chest heaving as she fought desperately for air, her eyes wide with a primal, animalistic terror.
Adrian reached down to the table. Resting beside Vanessa’s shattered champagne glass was her management-level employee badge—a polished metal card bearing her name, title, and high-level security clearances, the symbol of her status, power, and untouchable corporate dominance.
With two fingers, Adrian picked up the badge. He lifted it slowly, turning it over in the bright cinematic light so the gold lettering gleamed.
May you like
He looked down at Vanessa, his voice dropping to a quiet, dangerous rumble that carried across the entire silent hall.
“You were right,” Adrian said coldly. “Someone will be leaving through the back door.”
