Chapter 14 - The Broadcast
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I sat in my father's penthouse suite overlooking the glittering city, listening to the venom pouring from Celeste’s mouth. She was standing in the ruins of her son's life, yet she still clung desperately to the illusion of her own superiority. She truly believed that my worth was defined entirely by the fake prestige of the Vale family name.
"You think you can ruin us with a police report?" Celeste spat over the phone. "You have no power, Elena. You are just a glorified secretary. When the press hears how you abandoned the wedding, you will be a laughingstock."
"Turn on the television, Celeste," I said smoothly, cutting through her tirade.
"What?" she snapped, confused by the pivot.
"I said, turn on the television. Any major financial news network will do."
There was a brief pause, followed by the sound of Adrian scrambling to find the remote for the small screen still mounted on the apartment wall.
A prominent business reporter was standing live on the rain-slicked pavement outside Halcyon’s massive glass-and-steel global headquarters.
"...in a shocking late-night development," the reporter announced urgently, "the board of directors at Halcyon Hotels has just confirmed a massive restructuring. Julian Ward is stepping down as Chairman. The board has officially revealed the identity of the elusive majority shareholder, who has just been appointed as the new Executive Chair of the global conglomerate."
Behind the reporter, the massive digital billboard on the side of the skyscraper shifted. My official corporate photograph, sharp, professional, and radiating authority, filled the massive screen. Below my face, bold white letters displayed the truth they had never bothered to discover.
May you like
Elena Ward. Executive Chair. Fifty-one percent ownership.
Over the phone line, I heard Celeste gasp. She stopped breathing completely.
