The Footage Went Live
The ballroom doors swung open with enough force to silence the last whisper in the room.
Every conversation died.
A dozen black-suited security officers entered in perfect formation, moving quickly but without panic. They didn't push anyone aside. The guests stepped back on their own, instinctively clearing a path through the crowd.
At the center of the formation walked the Head of Security.
His face revealed nothing.
Dylan forced a laugh.
"What is this supposed to be?" he asked loudly, glancing around the room. "Some kind of performance?"
No one laughed with him.
The Head of Security continued forward until he stopped directly in front of Dylan.
For a brief moment, neither man spoke.
Then phones began vibrating again.
This time, nearly everyone reached for them.
One guest frowned.
Another gasped under her breath.
An elderly investor removed his reading glasses, cleaned them with a handkerchief, and looked at the screen again as though hoping he had misunderstood what he was seeing.
Across the ballroom, expressions changed one after another.
Curiosity.
Shock.
Disbelief.
A board member from one of the Pierce family's foundations quietly lowered his phone and took a slow step backward.
His wife followed without saying a word.
Dylan noticed.
"What is everyone looking at?" he demanded.
Silence answered him.
He grabbed his own phone from his pocket and stared at the lock screen.
Dozens of missed notifications flooded across the display.
Before he could open a single one, the Head of Security finally spoke.
His voice was calm.
Professional.
Loud enough for every person in the ballroom to hear.
"Sir..."
He paused only a heartbeat.
"The footage is live."
The words seemed to steal the air from the room.
Dylan's eyes widened.
"What footage?"
The Head of Security didn't respond.
He didn't have to.
Around the ballroom, guests were already watching the same live security recording on their phones.
No one spoke.
No one dared.
Whatever the cameras were showing, it had erased years of confidence from Dylan's face in a matter of seconds.
His breathing became uneven.
He looked toward Ava.
May you like
For the first time that night, she wasn't the one standing alone.
He was.
