Chapter 1
The heavy velvet drapes of the grand auditorium seemed to swallow the deafening silence as Julian marched down the central aisle. Every head turned in unison, tracking the disgraced billionaire whose customized Italian suit suddenly felt like a suffocating shroud of guilt. Victoria remained rooted to her seat in the front row, her face drained of all color, vibrating with a lethal combination of humiliation and unbridled fury. Her hands clawed into the armrests until her manicured acrylic nails snapped against the fabric with faint, sharp cracks.
"Julian, don't you dare take another step toward those nobodies!" Victoria shrieked in a high-pitched, manic whisper that echoed across the terrified rows. Julian didn't even spare her a sideways glance, his mind entirely consumed by the two living, breathing mirrors of his own forgotten past standing under the blinding spotlights. The stage lights caught the sharp angles of Leo and Ethan's aristocratic jawlines, casting long, menacing shadows across the polished wooden floorboards.
