Chapter 52
Chapter 52:
Skye felt the blood drain from her face, pooling somewhere in her feet.
Pinned to the board were dozens of photos. They weren’t fake. They were real.
Skye recognized the lighting immediately. The dimly lit VIP corridor of The Obsidian Club. The velvet curtains. In the photos, she was speaking with a man—an investor she had been negotiating with regarding a tech startup acquisition. But the camera angle was malicious. It was taken from behind a pillar, obscuring the documents in her hand and making professional proximity look intimate.
Beneath the photos, bold black text screamed: SUGAR BABY REVEALED. SKYE STERLING: SERVICING THE ELITE AT THE OBSIDIAN CLUB.
A wave of nausea rolled through her stomach. It was a brilliant mix of truth and lies. The photos were genuine, which made the lie in the caption impossible to disprove with a simple “It’s Photoshop” defense. This was Seraphina’s handiwork—using Tiffany’s spy shots from weeks ago.
“Nice lingerie, Sterling,” a male voice jeered from behind her.
“How much for a lap dance p>
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
Skye turned slowly. She lowered her sunglasses just enough to fix the boy with a stare that could freeze water. She didn’t speak. She didn’t defend herself. She just looked at him, dissecting him with her eyes until his grin faltered and he looked away, shuffling his feet.
Suddenly, a blur of motion cut through the crowd.
Ethan Vance plowed through the students like a linebacker. His face was a mask of fury, his usually playful eyes dark and dangerous. He didn’t look at Skye. He went straight for the board.
He ripped the photos down.
The sound of tearing paper was violent, a sharp rip that silenced the laughter instantly. He didn’t just take them down; he clawed at them, crumpling the glossy paper in his fists, destroying the evidence with a physical desperation that made Skye’s breath hitch.
“Who put this up?” Ethan roared, spinning around to face the crowd. He held the crumpled balls of paper in shaking hands. “Who the hell thinks this is funny p>
𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘂𝗌𝗮𝗻𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝗳 𝗻𝗈𝗏𝗲𝗅𝘀 о𝘯 b𝘦.сom
No one answered. The students who had been laughing seconds ago were now studying their shoes, terrified of the Vance family temper.
Ethan’s chest heaved. He looked wild, his hair messy, his jaw clenched so hard a muscle ticked in his cheek. He looked at the boy who had made the comment.
“If I hear one more word,” Ethan snarled, his voice low and trembling with restraint, “you’ll be explaining it to the Dean. And then to my lawyers. Get out of here. All of you p>
The crowd dispersed quickly, scattering like roaches when the lights come on.
Skye stood still, watching Ethan’s back. She felt a strange, foreign warmth in her chest. In her previous life, no one had ever stood up for her like this. Not Liam. Never Liam. Liam would have asked her why she allowed herself to be photographed.
Ethan turned to her. The anger in his face melted into something softer, something full of concern and panic.
“Skye,” he breathed, stepping toward her. He reached out a hand to touch her arm, then pulled back, unsure. “Are you okay? Did they… did you see who did it p>
“I’m fine, Ethan,” Skye said, her voice surprisingly steady. She adjusted her sunglasses, pushing them back up her nose. “It’s just paper p>