Chapter 3 - The Uninvited Guest
The laughter and clinking of champagne flutes died down instantly. A collective gasp rippled through the high-society crowd as a dozen uniformed guards in Vance Global security attire marched into the room, creating a wide path through the center aisle.
Behind them walked Alexander Vance. But he was not walking alone.
Arm in arm with the legendary billionaire was a woman in an emerald green silk gown that clung to her figure with regal perfection. A ninety-carat emerald necklace sparkled against her throat, and her dark hair was styled in sleek, flawless waves. Her walk was confident, cold, and dripping with absolute authority.
It was me.
Carter’s champagne glass slipped from his fingers, crashing onto the marble floor and shattering into a hundred glittering pieces. Victoria turned as pale as a corpse, staggering backward into a table of hors d'oeuvres.
“E-Emma?” Carter choked out, his voice squeaking like an embarrassed boy’s. “You... how are you alive?”
The press went wild. Camera flashes erupted like lightning strikes, illuminating the terror on the faces of the Sterling family.
I stepped up onto the raised dais, taking the microphone directly from the master of ceremonies. My voice echoed through the high-ceilinged room, crystal clear and brimming with icy power.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” I said, looking down at Carter and Victoria as if they were insects beneath my heels. “I apologize for interrupting the festivities, but I believe there are a few legal inaccuracies in Mrs. Sterling’s statement regarding my ‘psychological collapse.’”
“Security! Get this woman out of here!” Victoria shrieked, her voice turning shrill as her aristocratic composure crumbled. “She’s insane! She’s an intruder!”
Not a single security guard moved. The hotel staff, fully aware that Alexander Vance owned the St. Regis, stood at attention along the walls, blocking every exit.
Alexander stepped up beside me, pulling a microphone from his lapel. “If anyone touches my grand-daughter,” he announced, his deep voice carrying a terrifying weight, “I will personally ensure that every asset, house, and bank account associated with their name is frozen by midnight.”
The room went dead silent.
Grand-daughter?
The word bounced off the walls like an artillery shell. The investors and board members present stared at Carter in total shock. Carter looked between me and Alexander, his mouth hanging open in sheer panic.
“Grand-daughter?” Carter stammered, taking a step toward the stage. “Emma... what is this joke? You’re an orphan! Your parents were nobodies!”
“My mother was Eleanor Vance, the only daughter of Alexander Vance,” I replied, looking down at him with dark contempt. “She chose a simple life, away from the spotlight. But I am a Vance. And the blood that runs in my veins commands the very fortune you were begging for tonight.”
I gestured to the massive digital screen behind the main stage.
Frank tiktapped his tablet, overriding the gala’s slide show. The glossy promotional images of Sterling Enterprises vanished, replaced by clear, high-definition video footage.
The entire ballroom watched in horrified silence as the video played: Carter dragging me through the hospital service corridor by my hair; Victoria tossing forged medical documents into my lap while bodyguards pinned me down; and finally, audio recordings captured by our team’s directional microphones outside the hospital.
“Sign them, Emma. You’re giving up your parental rights... To us, you’re nothing more than a penniless surrogate.”
Victoria’s cruel, venomous voice resonated through the speaker system for every prominent member of New York high society to hear.
The crowd erupted into furious whispers and outrage. Investors began backing away from Carter and Victoria as if they were contagious with a deadly disease.
“This is a fake! A deepfake made by AI!” Victoria screamed hysterically, her expensive diamond earrings shaking as she pointed a trembling finger at me. “She’s trying to frame us! Carter, tell them!”
Carter was sweating profusely, his expensive collar suddenly suffocating him. “Emma... please... let’s talk about this privately. We’re family!”
“Family?” I chuckled, a cold, breathless sound. “Three nights ago, you threw my newborn daughter and me into a subzero blizzard on a deserted highway and told us to die. You didn't treat me like family, Carter. You treated me like trash.”
May you like
I turned my head toward the back of the room. Two federal agents in trench coats stepped through the doors, accompanied by four city police officers holding arrest warrants.
“Dr. Robert Miller was arrested two hours ago,” I announced to the room, my voice flat and unyielding. “He has already confessed to accepting a bribe to falsify my medical records. The police are here for you, Victoria.”
