Chapter 16 - The Gala Invites
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Vanessa scrambled to her feet, her hands shaking so badly she knocked her dining chair backward.
"You set me up!" she screamed, her socialite facade completely disintegrating into hysterical panic. "You dragged me here to humiliate me!"
"You humiliated yourself the moment you treated my staff like garbage," Evelyn interjected, her voice sharp as steel. "I brought you into my home, Vanessa. I thought you were a kind, gentle girl who would bring joy to my son's life. Instead, you showed me the heart of a cobra."
Lord Vance wiped his mouth with a napkin, looking at Vanessa with disgust. "I will be calling my board tonight, Miss Hale. All credit lines to Hale Development are officially revoked. Your father's firm will be in receivership by nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
"No! Please! Lord Vance!" Vanessa dropped to her knees, weeping hysterically, grabbing at the old man's trousers. "My father had nothing to do with this! Please don't destroy us!"
"Get off him," Adrian commanded, his voice dropping into a register that made the entire room freeze.
Vanessa looked up at Adrian, her eyes filled with desperation, mascara running down her cheeks. "Adrian... please! I can change! I was stressed! I loved you! I came here for you!"
"You didn't even know my face," Adrian said, looking down at her with absolute pity. "You loved the idea of my money. You loved the idea of power. You didn't care about the man behind it."
Adrian turned to the two security guards standing at the dining room entrance. "Escort Miss Hale off the property. Pack her bags and leave them at the gate. If she sets foot on this land again, have her arrested for trespassing."
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"You monster!" Vanessa shrieked as the security guards grabbed her arms, hauling her toward the door. "You tricked me! You tricked everyone!"
Her screams faded down the long marble corridor as the heavy oak doors shut behind her.
