The silence in the private dining room was deafening. Gabriella's brain spun wildly. She stared at the red exclamation mark on Emmett's phone, feeling the intense, burning stares of Jerrell and Julian on her skin.
Jerrell took a step toward her. His face was pale, his jaw tight.
"Gabby," Jerrell's voice shook with anger and confusion. "Why do you have his personal number? What happened this morning?"
Gabriella felt a suffocating pressure in her chest. She couldn't tell them about Charlee. She couldn't expose Eloise's family secrets.
"It was just... a misunderstanding from the police station," Gabriella stammered, her hands gripping the edge of the table.
Emmett let out a dark, mocking laugh. He looked at Jerrell with pure disgust.
"You sound like a controlling father, Bishop," Emmett sneered. "Are you always this pathetic?"
Before Jerrell could yell back, Emmett dropped a massive bomb.
"How is the wedding planning going, by the way?" Emmett asked casually, adjusting his watch. "I heard the Senator from Washington is very eager to marry his daughter off to you."
Jerrell's body jerked as if he had been shot. The anger in his blue eyes vanished, replaced by sheer panic. He instinctively looked at Gabriella.
Gabriella felt a physical blow to her stomach. The word "wedding" echoed in her ears. She stared at Jerrell, the man she thought was her perfect protector. The betrayal tasted like acid in the back of her throat.
The air pressure in the room dropped to zero. Julian, desperate to stop the bloodbath, grabbed his wine glass.
"Come on, guys," Julian laughed nervously, his forehead sweating. "Gabby just got back. Maybe she met some mystery guy in California! Is that why you two are fighting over her?"
Julian winked at Gabriella, trying to make a joke out of the nightmare.
Gabriella was pushed to her absolute limit. The humiliation from Emmett, the betrayal from Jerrell-she needed to end this right now. She made a reckless decision.
She straightened her spine. She turned her head and looked directly into Emmett's dark, dangerous eyes.
"Actually, yes," Gabriella lied, her voice loud and clear. "I have a boyfriend. We've been together for a while. He is a surgeon. He is kind, gentle, and he is definitely not an arrogant, psychotic billionaire."
The mocking smile on Emmett's face died instantly.
The temperature in the room plummeted. The dark storm that gathered in Emmett's eyes was terrifying. The raw, aggressive aura radiating from him made it physically hard for Gabriella to pull air into her lungs.
Emmett slowly stood up. His movements were smooth but carried the lethal threat of a predator about to strike. He brushed a piece of invisible lint off his suit jacket.
He looked down at Gabriella. His eyes were dead.
"Your taste is incredibly cheap," Emmett said. His voice was as cold as a Siberian blizzard.
He then turned his head, sweeping his gaze over Jerrell and Julian. The absolute contempt in his eyes made them both shrink back.
"By the way," Emmett announced, his voice echoing off the crystal chandelier. "Cosmos Dynamics just finalized the dark-pool acquisition of Europe's largest military defense contractor."
Jerrell and Julian stopped breathing. Their faces turned the color of chalk.
Emmett smirked at Jerrell. "Keep selling your body for political votes, Bishop. You're going to need them."
He casually scooped his custom black phone off the table without breaking stride, the screen going dark as it disappeared into his pocket. He turned around and walked toward the door.
"Enjoy your dinner, you pathetic parasites," he threw the words over his shoulder.
He grabbed the heavy wooden door and yanked it open. He stepped out and slammed it shut behind him. The massive bang shook the walls of the room.
Dead silence fell over the table.
Gabriella's heart was beating so hard it hurt. She stared at the closed door, a sudden, inexplicable wave of terror washing over her.
Jerrell collapsed into his chair. He buried his face in his hands. His perfect, golden-boy image was completely shattered.
Julian swallowed hard. He picked up his wine glass with a trembling hand and downed the whole thing.
"We just pissed off a monster," Julian whispered.
Gabriella looked down at the bowl of seafood bisque. The spot where Emmett had taken a bite stared back at her. Her stomach churned. She had completely lost her appetite.
