Chapter 8 - The Confrontation
The orchestra was playing a soft classical piece when the heavy brass doors of the ballroom swung open with a loud crash.
The music stuttered to a halt as heads turned toward the entrance.
Daniel and Emily walked slowly into the center of the room, looking like royalty returning to reclaim their stolen throne.
Gasps echoed through the crowd as people recognized the missing billionaire and his supposedly disgraced wife.
Victoria Whitmore froze, her champagne flute slipping from her fingers and shattering on the marble floor.
"Daniel?" she gasped, her carefully constructed mask of grief crumbling into absolute panic.
"Hello, Mother," Daniel said, his voice carrying perfectly across the silent ballroom.
"I apologize for arriving late, but my wife and I had a difficult time outrunning your assassins."
Murmurs of shock rippled through the elite crowd, reporters instantly pulling out their phones to record the drama.
Victoria quickly recovered, forcing a sickly sweet smile onto her face as she took a step forward.
"Daniel, you are clearly unwell, you've been kidnapped and brainwashed by this woman," Victoria declared loudly, gesturing to Emily.
"Security, please escort my son to a private room so he can get medical attention!"
A few of Victoria's loyal guards moved forward, but Marcus and his men instantly drew their weapons, forming an impenetrable wall around the couple.
"No one is moving," Daniel commanded, his voice echoing with undeniable authority.
He looked directly into his mother's eyes, seeing nothing but the hollow, desperate ambition of a monster.
"You took a year of my life, Mother, and you tried to take my sons," Daniel said coldly.
May you like
"Now, I am taking absolutely everything from you."
Daniel raised his hand, and signaled the tech booth upstairs.
