But the words that left his mouth were devastating.
"This woman is a low-level assistant at my company who's been harboring delusional fantasies about me."
"She actually had the nerve to sneak backstage today and cause a scene, trying to sabotage Miss Abbott's red carpet moment."
"Get her out of here. Drag her out before she dirties everyone's evening."
The room erupted.
Countless camera flashes fired at once, capturing me on my knees.
He wanted to use this to destroy my dignity.
The bodyguards seized my arms and hauled me toward the doors, out into the pouring rain.
Dominic stood with his arm around Millicent's waist, watching me go.
"Gabriella, this is what happens when you don't behave."
"Tonight, you can sleep on the street and think about what you've done."
They threw me into the mud outside the backstage doors.
The rain hammered down, washing the blood from my knees in thin red rivulets.
I lay in the filth, staring back at the two of them glowing under the red carpet lights, and a cold smile curled across my lips.
From my soaked pocket, I fished out a black encrypted phone.
My fingers trembled as I punched in a number.
Abner Griffin's private line.
Abner Griffin. The most feared power broker in Grandview's elite circles, a man no one dared cross. He was also the only partner who'd stood beside me years ago when I built my venture capital empire on Wall Street.
For five years, he'd willingly stayed in the shadows, managing my tens of billions in overseas assets. Countless times he'd barely held back the obsessive love burning behind his eyes, begging me, voice raw, to leave Dominic. And every time, I'd stubbornly refused, clinging to the idea that I wanted the quiet, ordinary love of a normal life.
It took until today for the truth to finally hit me. Some trash didn't deserve real love.
The call connected.
"It's me."
"The game is over. Pull every domestic investment from Kessler Group. Cut off their entire funding pipeline."
"And one more thing."
I closed my eyes and let the rain pound against my face. When I opened them again, nothing remained but cold resolve.
"Abner, come get me. Tomorrow, I want Dominic Kessler and his Kessler Group erased from Grandview City."
A few seconds of silence on the other end. Then a man's voice came through, low and rough, laced with long-suppressed anguish and lethal intent:
"Ten minutes. And Dominic Kessler pays with his life."
I hung up. Not far away, inside the lounge, Dominic and Millicent's laughter still carried through the walls. They were still dreaming of keeping me under their heels.
They had no idea they were already finished.
