Adelia stepped out of the restroom wearing the black designer dress. She had replaced the thick bandages with thin, medical-grade adhesive strips and doused her swollen feet in numbing spray just to force them into the narrow shoes. The fabric clung to her body, the tailoring so precise it highlighted every curve of her silhouette without exposing an inch of cleavage. It was a weaponized garment.
She followed Ivan out of the building. The cold evening air hit her bare legs. She slid into the low passenger seat of Ivan's obnoxious, cherry-red Ferrari.
The engine roared to life, and Ivan sped through the Manhattan traffic.
The car jerked to a halt under the massive, brightly lit portico of the Four Seasons Hotel. A valet in a crisp uniform immediately opened her door.
Adelia stepped out, the sharp bite of her stiletto heels sending a jolt of agony through her numbed soles. She forced a steady gait, each click against the pavement a calculated performance of grace. The wind whipped a strand of hair across her face. She tucked it behind her ear, instantly slipping into the persona of a flawless, untouchable assistant.
Ivan walked around the car. He deliberately slowed his pace until she caught up. As they approached the glass doors, his hand shot out and rested heavily on the curve of her lower back.
Adelia's entire body went rigid. Her muscles locked up. Her instinct screamed at her to shove him away, but Ivan leaned in close. He whispered in her ear, reminding her of the twenty thousand dollars a month.
She swallowed the bile in her throat and forced herself to keep walking, letting his hand burn against her spine.
They walked across the opulent lobby toward the VIP elevators tucked in the back corridor. The digital numbers above the brass doors were counting down.
With a soft ding, the heavy doors slid open.
The air in Adelia's lungs vanished.
Standing dead center in the elevator was Dominic. He wore a bespoke, pitch-black suit that made him look like a god of death. His aura was suffocating. Standing right next to him, her arm looped through his, was Carly, dripping in diamonds.
The four of them locked eyes. The oxygen in the narrow hallway was instantly sucked away. The atmosphere froze solid.
Dominic's gaze was initially bored, but the second he recognized Adelia's face, his pupils shrank to pinpricks.
His eyes rapidly tracked down her body, taking in the tight black dress. Then, his vision locked onto Ivan's large hand resting intimately on Adelia's waist.
The temperature in the corridor plummeted. Dominic's eyes turned into lethal, jagged blades. The muscles in his jaw clenched so hard a visible tick pulsed near his ear. The sheer violence radiating from his body made Carly shiver and take a half-step back.
Ivan felt the murderous intent pouring off Dominic. It thrilled him. He smiled widely and intentionally pulled Adelia closer, his fingers digging slightly into her hip.
Adelia's feet and spine felt like they were made of shattered glass, the numbing spray wearing thin, but she refused to look away. She stared directly into Dominic's furious eyes with a completely blank expression.
Carly covered her mouth and let out a soft, mocking giggle, breaking the heavy silence.
Her voice dripped with fake sympathy. She asked Adelia how she had fallen so far that she had to resort to "serving" men for a living. She emphasized the word "serving," her eyes gleaming with the triumph of a winner.
Adelia didn't lose her temper. She drew on her professional armor. Her voice was crisp and cold.
She looked at Carly and stated that earning money through hard work was infinitely more honorable than being a parasite who stole other people's creations to build a fake reputation.
The words hit their mark with lethal precision. It was a direct reference to Carly stealing Adelia's original songs three years ago.
Carly's face turned chalk white. The smug smile vanished, replaced by a look of sheer panic.
Dominic heard the exchange. His brow furrowed deeply. He couldn't care less about the song right now. He was consumed by the fact that Adelia was standing up for herself while letting Ivan touch her.
The elevator doors began to close. Ivan pushed Adelia forward, stepping into the cab right as the doors slid shut.
The four of them were trapped in the tiny, mirrored box. The silence was deafening. The only sound was the hum of the cables pulling them upward.
Dominic stared at the metal doors in front of him. He didn't turn his head. He spoke in a voice so low and cold it sounded like ice cracking.
He called Adelia cheap. He said she had thrown away her dignity for cash, selling her soul to a piece of garbage who had once tried to assault her.
The words were a serrated knife plunging directly into Adelia's heart. But her face remained a mask of stone.
She stared straight ahead at her own reflection in the metal doors. Her voice was dead.
She replied that as long as it got her away from the sickening environment he created, she would sell her soul to anyone.
The elevator chimed. The doors slid open to the banquet floor.
Dominic's jaw looked like it was about to snap. He didn't say another word. He stormed out of the elevator, his long strides carrying him away in a cloud of dark fury.
Adelia kept her back straight. With a stiff, measured stride that hid a desperate limp, she walked out of the elevator beside Ivan, heading toward the noise of the ballroom, refusing to look back at the man she had just destroyed.
