Chapter 3 - The Apex Predator Arrives
Whispers erupted among the terrified elite.
Vance. The phantom billionaires. The apex predators of the city’s financial and political underworld. The family that owned the banks, the judges, and the very foundation of the estate this gala was being held in.
I had attended the charity event using my mother’s maiden name, wearing a simple dress, simply to observe how the city’s "elite" behaved behind closed doors.
Now, I knew exactly who they were.
The grand double doors at the top of the sweeping marble staircase opened with a heavy, ominous creak.
Victor Vance walked out.
My father.
He wore a tailored charcoal suit, his presence radiating an aura of absolute, terrifying authority. The crowd parted like the Red Sea as he descended the stairs, his cold, piercing eyes scanning the room until they landed on my bruised cheek and bleeding lip.
The temperature in the ballroom seemed to drop twenty degrees.
Victor approached Tristan.
Tristan’s knees gave out. He collapsed onto the marble floor, trembling violently.
"Mr. Vance," Tristan stammered, tears of sheer panic welling in his eyes. "I didn't know! I swear to God, I didn't know she was your daughter! If I had known, I never would have touched her!"
My father stopped in front of him, looking down at the heir with absolute disgust.
"That is precisely the problem," my father said, his voice a low, terrifying rumble that echoed off the vaulted ceilings. "You didn't know she was an heir. Which means you believed she was just an ordinary woman. Someone you could abuse, humiliate, and discard without consequence."
"Please!" Tristan begged, clasping his hands together. "My father... Richard Montgomery! He’ll compensate you! He’ll give you whatever you want! Just let me go!"
May you like
I pulled a secondary satellite phone from my purse. The jammers were programmed to ignore its frequency.
"I already spoke to your father," I said smoothly. "Ten minutes ago, while you were busy laughing with your friends."
