Alex navigated the sleek black car through the heavy Manhattan traffic. The interior of the car was suffocatingly silent.
Colette sat in the passenger seat. She clutched her designer purse in her lap, her knuckles stark white from the lingering tension of the jewelry store. She stared blankly out the window, refusing to look at him.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated violently against the leather center console.
She flinched. She glanced at the screen and saw a FaceTime call incoming from her socialite friend, Leo Foster.
She took a deep breath, forcing her facial muscles into a relaxed, cheerful mask to hide her terrible mood. She answered the call.
Leo's face appeared on the screen. He was illuminated by flashing red and purple neon club lights. The loud, thumping bass of electronic music bled through the phone's speakers.
"Colette!" Leo yelled over the music. "Where are you right now?"
Colette frowned, confused by his frantic energy. "I just finished wedding ring shopping. Why?"
Leo didn't answer. He flipped his camera around. The screen showed a chaotic, shaky view of the VIP section at Elysium, one of the most exclusive clubs in the city.
Colette gasped. The air rushed out of her lungs.
On the screen, she saw Julian. His expensive suit jacket was gone, his silk tie ripped off and hanging loosely around his neck. He was violently shoving a middle-aged man backward into a leather booth.
"Julian is in a massive physical altercation!" Leo shouted into the microphone, the camera shaking wildly as neon lights flared and people shoved past him. "I can't see clearly who he's hitting! It's total chaos, Colette! I think it's over some girl in the booth, but the crowd is pushing too hard!"
Colette's heart shattered into a thousand jagged pieces. The realization hit her with the force of a freight train. Julian had lied. There was no European fund crisis. He had abandoned her at the bridal shop to go play hero for his ex-girlfriend.
"Leo, stay on the line," Colette demanded, her voice shaking with adrenaline. "Keep the camera pointed at him."
She turned to Alex. Her eyes were wide, her voice trembling but filled with absolute, aristocratic authority.
"Drive to Elysium. Now."
Alex glanced at the phone screen in her hand. He saw Julian throwing a punch. His dark eyes narrowed dangerously, a lethal fury igniting in his chest.
He wordlessly shifted the car into a higher gear. The powerful engine roared as he slammed his foot on the gas pedal.
Colette watched the video feed. She saw Abby kneeling on the floor behind Julian, clutching his torn shirt, sobbing hysterically.
A wave of intense, burning humiliation washed over Colette. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, blurring the screen.
She fiercely blinked the tears away. She lifted her chin, refusing to let a single tear fall in front of Alex.
Alex noticed her distress in the rearview mirror. His grip on the steering wheel tightened so severely the leather creaked under his hands.
He violently swerves around a slow-moving yellow taxi, cutting through the dense traffic with ruthless, terrifying precision.
"You shouldn't have to see this," Alex told her in a low, furious voice.
Colette stared straight ahead at the windshield. "I am a Beaumont. I handle my own messes."
The car screeches to a violent halt right in front of the velvet ropes of Elysium club.
Two massive bouncers immediately stepped forward, raising their hands to yell at the illegally parked vehicle.
Alex rolled down his window. He didn't raise his voice or lose his temper. Instead, he calmly reached into his inner jacket pocket and produced a sleek, matte-black Elysium VIP founder's card, flashing it briefly under the streetlights. He uttered a single, quiet directive to the bouncers. The two massive men immediately clamped their mouths shut, their eyes widening in sudden, terrified recognition, and stepped back respectfully.
Alex turned off the engine. He unbuckled his seatbelt in one fluid motion.
Colette pushed her door open. She stepped out into the cool night air, her spine rigid, her chin held high.
Alex stepped out of the driver's side. He adjusted his suit jacket. In that single second, his presence instantly transformed from a corporate driver to a lethal, highly trained bodyguard.
He fell into step right behind her, a dark, imposing shadow ready to tear apart anyone who dared to cross her path.
