Chapter 5 - The Gala of Ghosts
Two weeks later, an annual charity gala was held at the city's grandest museum. It was a mandatory event for the elite, and my father insisted we attend.
"We do not hide, Valeria," he told me as I adjusted the clasp of my emerald silk gown. "You are a Salazar. You walk into that room, and you show them that you are unbreakable."
I took a deep breath, slipping my hand into the crook of his arm.
When we entered the ballroom, the whispers started immediately. Eyes darted toward me. Some held pity, others morbid curiosity. But I held my head high.
Then, the crowd parted.
Santiago and Beatriz stood near the bar. They had managed to scrape together enough favors to attend, desperately trying to project an image of innocence. Santiago looked haggard. His suit hung slightly loose on his frame; the dark circles under his eyes spoke of sleepless, panicked nights.
When he saw me, his eyes flared with a toxic mix of hatred and obsession. He broke away from his mother and marched toward us. My father’s security team immediately stepped forward, but I raised a hand, stopping them.
"Valeria," Santiago sneered, stopping a few feet away, smelling of stale scotch and desperation. "You think you’ve won? You think you can destroy my life and just walk away? I will tie you up in court for the next decade. I will take Leo from you."
I looked at him. The man who had once terrified me into submission now just looked pathetic.
"You don't have the money for a decade of litigation, Santiago," I said, my voice carrying clearly over the hushed crowd. "Your accounts are frozen. Your board fired you. Your mother is facing conspiracy charges."
"You little—" He lunged, raising his hand.
He never made it. Diego, my father's head of security, grabbed Santiago’s wrist in a grip of iron, twisting it just enough to make Santiago gasp in pain.
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"Touch her," my father whispered, stepping forward until he was inches from Santiago's face, "and I won't bother with the courts. I will erase you from the face of the earth, and no one will ever find the pieces."
Santiago was thrown out of the gala by museum security. I watched him get dragged out into the rain, feeling the last heavy chain around my heart snap. I was finally free of the fear.
