Chapter 2: The Reckoning
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd of VIP guests. The phones that had been recording Nora’s humiliation were now turned directly toward Julian, capturing his rapid, sweating descent into panic.
"Mr. Sterling, please, there's been a massive misunderstanding!" Julian stammered, his face draining of all color. He reached out frantically, trying to touch Mr. Sterling’s sleeve, but a large security guard immediately stepped between them. "The papers she has—they are confidential company property! She stole them!"
"They are not stolen, Julian. They are copies of your offshore bank statements," Nora said calmly, her voice steady and resolute as she adjusted the strap of her grey gown. "For the past eighteen months, you have been embezzling funds from the Sterling Foundation's charity sector. You thought throwing me to the ground would stop me from handing this file to Arthur tonight. You were wrong."
Julian looked around the room, desperately seeking an ally among the elite guests he had spent months trying to impress. But every face was turned away in disgust. The very peers he wanted to look dominant in front of were now watching him unravel.
May you like
Mr. Sterling looked at the head of security and gave a single, firm nod. "Julian Richard, you are stripped of your title, your credentials, and your access to any Sterling property. Security, drag him out of here. And call the authorities."
In a poetic reversal of his own cruel words, Julian was forcefully grabbed by his arms. His sharp grey suit crumpled as he violently struggled, screaming desperate pleas that were entirely ignored as he was dragged across the white marble floor and out into the night.
