Chapter 7 - The Unraveling|
Standing over the weeping heiress, Naomi felt the energy in the ballroom shift dramatically. The four security guards snapped out of their shock and lunged toward Naomi.
"Restrain her!" one guard roared.
Naomi didn't draw a weapon. As the first guard reached for her shoulder, she stepped inside his reach, tapped his radial nerve to collapse his grip, sidestepped, and drove her elbow lightly into the second guard's solar plexus. In less than three seconds, both two-hundred-pound men were gasping on the floor.
Panic flared through the crowd.
"Ethan!" Vanessa wailed, scrambling backward. "She’s insane! Call the police!"
Ethan walked past the groaning guards and stopped right beside Naomi. He reached into his tuxedo jacket, pulled out a small velvet box, and tossed it into the puddle of champagne near Vanessa’s feet.
"The engagement is over," Ethan announced loudly. "The Sterling merger is canceled."
Gasp erupted from the guests.
"You can't do this!" Vanessa screamed, her voice shrill. "My father will ruin you! Whitmore Development will fall apart by tomorrow morning!"
"No, it won't," a deep, booming voice called out from the main entrance.
The crowd parted immediately. Old Harold Whitmore walked down the center aisle, leaning on his mahogany cane, flanked by two sharp-looking men in dark suits.
"Grandfather?" Ethan said, surprised.
May you like
Harold stopped in front of Naomi, a faint smile touching his aged lips. "Good form, Naomi. Mara Caldwell always said you were her most disciplined student."
Naomi blinked in genuine surprise. "You know Mara?"
