Chapter 112
Chapter 112:
Liam stood near the entrance, leaning heavily on a sleek, black cane with a silver handle. He checked his watch for the tenth time, shifting his weight to ease the pressure on his healing leg. He looked distracted, his eyes scanning the crowd not for friends, but for threats. He had barely slept. The mystery of “Mr. Morgan” was eating at him like a parasite.
A murmur rippled through the crowd near the main doors. Photographers began to flash their cameras, a staccato rhythm of white light.
Liam looked up. His jaw tightened.
Seraphina Miller had arrived.
She stepped out of a limousine that Liam hadn’t paid for. She was smiling, waving at the press as if she were royalty. But it wasn’t her smile that stopped the conversation in the room.
It was her dress.
It was a vintage emerald gown, structured with a corset bodice and a flowing train that shimmered like liquid money. It was stunning. It was iconic. It was also undeniably familiar to the older money in the room.
Liam frowned and walked toward her, his gait uneven, the cane clicking rhythmically against the marble floor. He intercepted her before she could reach the main press line.
“What are you wearing?” he hissed, grabbing her elbow gently but firmly. “I told you to wear the blue one I sent p>
Seraphina pouted, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes. “The blue one was so boring, Liam. This one… a fan sent it to me. Can you believe it? It fits perfectly. Don’t I look beautiful p>
She spun around, the emerald fabric catching the light.
“A fan?” Liam repeated, skeptical. “Seraphina, that looks like haute couture. That’s a fifty-thousand-dollar dress p>
“Maybe I have rich fans,” she giggled, linking her arm through his. “Come on, everyone is looking p>
They were looking, indeed. But they weren’t looking with admiration. They were whispering.
𝖣𝘪𝘀𝘤o𝗏𝖾r n𝘦𝗐 ѕ𝘁o𝗿ie𝘴 𝗈ո 𝗯𝗲.com
Across the room, Ethan Vance lowered his champagne glass. He narrowed his eyes. He knew that dress. He remembered seeing the original sketches in the Sterling family archives when his company acquired the designer’s backlog. It was a piece that had never been released to the public.
Ethan set his glass down on a passing tray. He didn’t walk; he marched. He cut through the crowd like a shark through water.
“Take it off,” Ethan said loudly as he reached them.
The music seemed to falter. The circle of people around Liam and Seraphina widened instinctively.
Liam stepped in front of Seraphina, his chest puffing out. “Excuse me? Watch your tone, Vance p>
“I said, take it off,” Ethan repeated, pointing a finger at Seraphina. “That is not off-the-rack. That is a custom Sterling commission. I saw the design portfolio myself. It belongs to a Sterling, not a charity case p>
Seraphina paled. Her grip on her clutch tightened until her knuckles were white.
“You’re crazy,” she squeaked. “It was a gift! You’re just trying to bully me because I’m not… from your world p>