Chapter 2: The House of Cards
The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. Vanessa felt the blood drain from her face. Apex Neural Dynamics? She knew that name. It was the conglomerate that had just acquired the supply chain her family’s textile empire relied on.
"I... I didn't know," Vanessa stammered, her social mask slipping for the first time. She looked at the other guests. They weren't looking at her with admiration anymore. They were looking at her as if she were a ghost haunting a grave.
"Ignorance is not a defense, Vanessa," Elena said, stepping forward. She wasn't angry; she was pitying, which was worse. She placed a protective hand on her stomach, her pregnancy bump barely visible under the silk. "You operate on a world of 'haves' and 'have-nots.' You assumed I was a have-not because I didn't wear my worth on my sleeve."
Julian stepped closer, invading Vanessa’s personal space. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. "You have spent the last hour bragging about your position on the board of Vanguard Textiles. You seem to have forgotten who the majority shareholder of Vanguard is."
Vanessa gasped. "No. That’s—that’s a private holding company. You can't be."
Julian pulled out his phone, tapped the screen once, and held it up. It was a live feed of the stock market. "I bought the controlling interest this morning. I didn't realize until right now that the woman I was buying out was the same woman who just insulted my wife."
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He signaled to the two security guards standing at the ballroom entrance. They didn't move toward the door; they moved toward Vanessa.
"You aren't being asked to leave," Julian said, his voice lethal. "You are being liquidated."
