The crowd parted like the Red Sea.
A low hum filled the air-the sound of an expensive electric motor.
Julian Sterling rolled into the circle.
He was wearing a tuxedo that fit him perfectly, emphasizing broad shoulders. He sat in his wheelchair not like a man confined, but like a king on a throne.
He stopped beside Eleanor.
Vivian froze. Her anger evaporated, replaced by fear. "Mr. Sterling..."
Julian didn't look at her. He looked at Eleanor. He checked her for injuries with a quick, sweeping glance.
"Did you just try to have my wife ejected?" Julian asked softly.
The word "Wife" rippled through the crowd like a shockwave.
Wife?
Julian Sterling is married?
To the Vance outcast?
Cassandra turned pale. "Wife? But... Julian, you said..."
Julian turned his head slowly to look at Cassandra.
"I'm sorry," Julian said. "Who are you?"
The crowd laughed. It was a brutal, spontaneous laugh.
Cassandra looked as if she had been slapped again. "I... I'm Cassandra. We met at the..."
"I don't recall," Julian cut her off. "But I do recall you throwing wine at my wife."
"She started it!" Vivian cried. "She slapped Cassandra!"
"I'm sure she had a good reason," Julian said calmly. He reached up and took Eleanor's hand.
Eleanor played along. She rested her other hand on his shoulder, a gesture of intimacy that felt surprisingly natural.
"Eleanor and I are married," Julian announced to the room, his voice projecting effortlessly. "And I don't appreciate my in-laws abusing the woman I love."
Love. Eleanor felt a twitch in her chest. He was a good actor.
A reporter shouted from the side, "Mr. Sterling, what about the rumors of a merger between Vance and Sterling via Cassandra?"
Julian laughed. "I don't merge with liabilities."
Cassandra burst into tears and ran toward the bathroom.
Vivian stood there, humiliated, stripped of her social standing in under two minutes. "We just want what's best for Eleanor..." she tried to salvage.
"Then leave her alone," Julian commanded. His eyes were cold, hard flint. "If you approach her again, I will buy your company and dismantle it for scrap."
He turned his wheelchair.
"Shall we, darling?" he asked Eleanor.
"We shall," Eleanor replied.
They moved away, leaving the Vances in the ruins of their reputation.
They reached the VIP balcony, overlooking the party. It was quieter here.
Eleanor let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Nice timing," she whispered.
"I protect my investments," Julian replied. He didn't let go of her hand immediately.
"You were ruthless," he added.
"I learned from the worst," she said, looking down at her parents, who were now arguing furiously in a corner.
Julian watched her profile. The light from the chandeliers below illuminated the sharp line of her jaw.
"You handle yourself well," he admitted. "Most people crumble under public pressure."
"I've been under pressure my whole life," Eleanor said. "Diamonds are made of carbon and pressure."
A waiter brought drinks. Scotch for him. More champagne for her.
Eleanor clinked her glass against Julian's.
"To partnerships," she said.
"To destruction," Julian corrected, clinking back.
Eleanor looked at him. She felt a strange sense of safety. It was foreign. Dangerous.
Julian's phone buzzed in his pocket. A text from his private investigator.
Subject: Eleanor Vance.
Gap in timeline: 2019-2023.
Location: Unknown.
Flag: High-level encryption on her records. She doesn't just have secrets, Boss. She has ghosts.
Julian ignored the phone. He preferred to solve the puzzle himself. And right now, the puzzle was standing next to him, wearing a dress made of midnight.