Chapter 14 - Back to the Ballroom
The Carrington ballroom looked exactly the same.
That made it worse.
A week earlier, I had been carrying champagne through that room.
Now every powerful family in Washington seemed to be watching me enter beside Adrian Moretti.
Adrian leaned toward me.
"You can still leave."
"So can you."
"Not anymore."
"Then stop asking me."
At the head table sat Salvatore Moretti, Senator Ward, Malcolm Sterling, Victor Russo, Rafael Serrano, and Judge Quinn.
Their daughters took their assigned places.
Then refused to stay there.
Celeste walked to my table.
Bianca followed.
Mara sat beside them.
Vanessa crossed the ballroom last.
Evelyn arrived two minutes later without her father's security.
He stood at the microphone.
"Tonight is about unity."
Bianca whispered, "That's usually when men announce something terrible."
Salvatore continued.
"My nephew has reached an important decision."
Adrian stood.
The ballroom went silent.
Senator Ward smiled at Vanessa.
She did not look back.
Adrian took the microphone.
"My uncle is right."
Salvatore relaxed.
"I have made a decision."
Then Adrian looked at me.
My stomach dropped.
He said, "I will not marry for a vote."
Whispers exploded.
Salvatore's face went hard.
Adrian continued.
"I won't trade a woman's name for control of a company."
He looked at the five women.
"And I won't pretend any of them came here freely."
Then Vanessa stood.
"Correct."
Celeste raised her glass.
"Painfully correct."
Mara stood next.
Bianca followed.
Evelyn did too.
For the first time, Salvatore looked afraid.
Adrian reached for my hand.
"If I ever choose a wife, I will choose her because she chooses me back."
He didn't announce an engagement.
He did something more dangerous.
He refused the system.
Then the ballroom screens went black.
A video began playing.
Carlo Moretti appeared.
But it wasn't the recording we had brought.
This one was different.
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And in it, Carlo said:
"If you're watching this, Salvatore already knows I planned to remove him.
