The black Maybach's tires crunched aggressively over the gravel driveway of the West family's Long Island estate.
Dalton stepped out of the car. He walked through the massive front doors and strode directly into the vintage, wood-paneled study.
Cordelia Van der Bilt was already sitting on the velvet sofa. She wore a pristine Chanel haute couture suit, holding a bone china teacup with the perfect posture of a high-society queen.
She offered a tight, condescending smile. "Dalton. Who is the shameless little tramp in the news?"
Dalton didn't sit down. He stood over her, his massive presence dominating the room. His eyes were completely devoid of warmth.
"Correct your vocabulary," Dalton said, his voice dropping to a dangerous register. "That is my fiancée. The only one I acknowledge."
Cordelia's smile shattered. The teacup rattled violently against the saucer in her hand.
She slammed the cup down and stood up. "Are you insane? Our marriage was decided by the board! It secures a ten-billion-dollar energy contract!"
Dalton scoffed. He walked over to the heavy oak desk, picked up a thick file folder, and tossed it onto the glass coffee table right in front of her.
"Read it."
It was a highly classified financial audit. It detailed the massive, catastrophic losses the Van der Bilt family had secretly suffered in European markets.
Cordelia's eyes scanned the top page. All the color drained from her face. She looked up at Dalton, her mouth opening and closing in pure shock.
"Your family is an empty shell," Dalton stated ruthlessly. "You have no leverage to negotiate with me."
He adjusted his cufflink, asserting total control. "The nominal engagement is void. The West Coast morning papers will run the cancellation statement tomorrow."
Cordelia completely lost her composure. The perfect socialite mask cracked.
"You can't do this!" she screamed, her voice shrill. "The elders will impeach you!"
Dalton took one step forward. The sheer, suffocating pressure radiating from him forced Cordelia to stumble backward.
"If I ever hear you use a derogatory word to describe Audriana again," Dalton warned, his voice a lethal whisper, "I will bury your entire family."
Cordelia saw the genuine, unfiltered murder in his dark eyes. She collapsed back onto the sofa, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Dalton looked at her with pure disgust. He turned and walked out of the study, refusing to waste another second on her.
Simon was waiting in the grand hallway. "Sir, the statement is ready to publish."
Simon hesitated. "But this will humiliate the Van der Bilts. They play dirty. This might put a target on Miss Christensen's back."
Dalton stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes darkened. Simon was right. High-society women were venomous.
"Where is she right now?" Dalton demanded.
Simon checked his tablet. "She has a class at Columbia University. It ends in two hours."
Dalton glanced at his watch.
At that exact moment, on the campus of Columbia University, Audriana was walking quickly down the tree-lined path. Her stomach was tied in knots.
Students were pointing and whispering as she passed. The trending topics had been wiped from the internet, but the screenshots were still spreading like wildfire on the private campus forums.
Her best friend, Paige Carpenter, ran up and grabbed her arm, pulling her behind a large brick building.
"Audriana, what the hell is going on?" Paige asked, her eyes wide with worry. "Why are you linked to Dalton West?"
Audriana bit her lower lip hard. "It's a horrible mistake, Paige. I'm trying to fix it."
A sharp, piercing laugh echoed behind them.
Audriana turned around. Blair Kenna, the queen bee of the campus and Cordelia's closest friend, was blocking their path. Two massive bodyguards flanked her.
