Chapter 6 - High Society Rejects
Victoria Sterling’s entire identity was wrapped up in how other people perceived her. Without her wealth, she was nothing.
Desperate to maintain the illusion that the federal probe was just a "misunderstanding," Victoria attended the city’s most exclusive charity gala on Friday night. She wore a vintage Oscar de la Renta gown, attempting to hold her head high as she walked into the ballroom.
But high society is notoriously ruthless.
When Victoria approached her usual table, the women she had gossiped with for decades suddenly turned their backs.
"Excuse me, Beatrice," Victoria said, trying to force a smile at a wealthy socialite. "Is this seat taken?"
Beatrice looked Victoria up and down with absolute disdain. "Actually, Victoria, the board had a meeting this morning. Given the federal investigation into your husband's... improprieties... we’ve decided to revoke your membership to the committee."
Victoria’s jaw dropped. "You can't do that! I founded this committee!"
"And now you are a liability," Beatrice said coldly. "Please leave. You’re embarrassing yourself."
Victoria, humiliated and flushed, marched to the open bar to order a drink. When she handed the bartender her prestigious black credit card, he swiped it, frowned, and swiped it again.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," the bartender said loudly enough for the surrounding guests to hear. "The card is declining. Code 04. Account frozen."
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The whispers tore through the room like wildfire. Victoria Sterling, the woman who had mocked my mother's poverty in front of four hundred people, was now standing in a ballroom, unable to afford a twenty-dollar martini.
She fled the gala in tears, her social execution complete.
