Chapter 9
The heavy velvet curtains at the far left of the stage parted slowly, drawing every single pair of eyes away from the whimpering Preston and toward the wings. A woman stepped out into the brilliant spotlight, wearing an immaculate midnight-blue silk pantsuit that radiated quiet, untouchable majesty and absolute sovereign power. Her long dark hair fell in soft waves past her shoulders, framing a face whose aristocratic bone structure was identical to the twin boys standing beside her.
Elena Holloway had not aged a single day in thirteen years; if anything, time had only sharpened her beauty into something fierce, breathtaking, and terrifyingly untouchable. She walked with slow, deliberate grace, her heels clicking against the wooden stage like the measured ticks of an executioner's clock. The auditorium fell into an absolute, breathless vacuum of sound as the legendary founder of Holloway Holdings finally revealed herself to the world.
