Chapter 10: The Public Humiliation at the Gala
While Ethan sat paralyzed in his suite, a high-society charity gala was winding down in the hotel’s grand ballroom downstairs. Ethan, desperate to prove to himself that it was all just a nightmare, had forced himself to put on a tuxedo and drag Chloe down to the ballroom, hoping to mingle with influential bankers who could bail him out. But news in New York travels faster than wildfire. As Ethan and Chloe walked through the double doors, the ambient chatter of the ballroom abruptly died down. Heads turned in unison, but unlike earlier in the evening when people fawned over Ethan’s wealth, the gazes now were filled with a mixture of shock, disgust, and predatory amusement. Whispers rippled through the crowd like static electricity. "That's him... Ethan Sterling. His company just went belly up forty minutes ago." "I heard the SEC raided his offices twenty minutes before midnight." "He's completely wiped out. Penniless." Ethan tried to ignore the whispers, grabbing a glass of scotch from a passing tray and stepping up to the bar to pay the tab with his personal platinum American Express card. He handed the card to the bartender with a forced, trembling smile. The bartender swiped it through the terminal. A harsh, electronic buzz echoed from the machine, accompanied by a glowing red indicator light: DECLINED - ACCOUNT CLOSED. Ethan swallowed hard, his throat tightening. "Try it again," he commanded, his voice tight. "Run it through the secondary processor." The bartender swiped it a second time. BUZZ. DECLINED - INSUFFICIENT FUNDS / ISSUER RESTRICTION. The bartender looked at Ethan with cold, blank indifference, reaching out to take the card back. "Sir, I'm going to need another form of payment. Or cash." Ethan stood frozen in front of the entire Manhattan elite, his public humiliation complete, absolute, and utterly irreversible.
