Chapter 8 - The Departure"Clear the room," Dominic commanded flatly.
He didn't speak to the Coles. He spoke to the fifty guests standing around the perimeter.
Within five seconds, a wave of panic swept through the high-society crowd. City officials, corporate executives, and socialites abandoned their champagne glasses, knocked over chairs, and trampled over one another in a desperate rush to reach the grand foyer doors before the exits were locked. No one looked back at Adrian. No one offered Margaret or Richard a word of comfort. The elite predators of the city recognized a dying animal, and they fled the carcass without hesitation.
In less than two minutes, the grand ballroom was empty, save for the Coles, Vanessa, my brothers, and myself.
Nico walked over to the corner display, picked up a plush velvet coat from the coat rack, and gently draped it over my shoulders, covering my damaged dress and shielding my raw skin from the cool draft sweeping through the open doors.
"Is the car ready?" Luca asked, checking his gold watch.
"The medical SUV is idling in the courtyard," Nico replied. "Doctor Rossi is waiting inside with a trauma burn kit."
Dominic looked down at me, his eyes softening into warmth that no one else in the world was ever allowed to see. "Can you walk, little sister?"
"I can walk," I said, lifting my chin high.
I walked past Margaret Cole, who sat slumped on a velvet sofa, staring blankly at the projector screen displaying the destruction of her family's wealth. I walked past Richard, who was frantically weeping into his hands as his phone exploded with calls from panicked board members.
And finally, I stopped in front of Adrian.
Matteo released his jaw, letting Adrian slide down the marble pillar until he collapsed onto his knees on the floor—the exact spot where I had been bound thirty minutes earlier.
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I looked down at him.
"You told me tonight that I came from nothing," I said, my voice steady, cold, and clear. "You were wrong. I came from a family that protects its own. You are the one who has nothing, Adrian. And by the time my brothers are finished, even your name will be erased."
