PART 2: THE FORECLOSURE VOW
The silence that slammed into the Grand Regent’s kitchen
was so thick it felt heavy enough to suffocate.
Chloe’s mouth remained open,
her mind refusing to process the reality shifting right in front of her eyes.
She stared at Christian’s black vest,
at the platinum tie clip,
and finally at the absolute lack of fear in his dark gaze.
The man she had just treated like a common servant
was Christian Vance—the thirty-two-year-old reclusive billionaire whose hedge fund owned the hospitality group,
the land,
and fifty percent of the commercial credits her father used to fund her family’s lifestyle.
“C-Christian…”
Chloe stammered,
her voice losing its aggressive,
replaced by an unstable,
sharp edge of panic.
She took a step back,
her gold bridal heels slipping slightly on the wet floor.
“There’s been a misunderstanding.
The wedding stress…
the planners told me the catering division was incompetent.
I didn’t know you were the executive chef today.
It was just a joke to ensure perfection.”
Christian didn’t answer her.
He didn’t waste a single breath on her explanations.
He walked straight past her,
his shoulder brushing against her lace gown,
completely erasing her presence from the room.
He walked out of the kitchen doors
and into the grand ballroom,
where three hundred of Manhattan’s elite
were waiting for the reception to begin.
Chloe hurried after him, her lace train ripping against the kitchen door frame.
“Christian, please!
Stop!
You can’t just cancel the reception!
The mayor is out there!
My father’s business partners are out there!
My reputation will be ruined!”
Christian reached the head of the ballroom,
stepping onto the raised platform where the wedding cake stood.
The classical string quartet stopped playing instantly.
The high-society guests froze,
their champagne glasses mid-air
as they watched the Chairman of Vance Global walk out in a waistcoat,
followed by a frantic,
crying bride.
“Ladies and gentlemen,”
Christian announced,
his voice smooth, low,
and carrying perfectly across the massive hall without a microphone.
“The Sterling wedding reception has been terminated.
The doors to this hotel will lock in exactly five minutes.
Please exit through the main lobby.”
A collective gasp exploded through the room.
Julian Sterling,
Chloe’s father,
stood up from the front table,
his face turning an instant,
furious red.
He marched toward Christian,
his hands shaking.
“Christian, what the hell are you doing?
We signed a venue contract!
I paid three hundred thousand dollars for this hall!”
Harrison, the Chief Legal Officer for the Vance Trust,
stepped out from the shadows of the pillars,
carrying a thick leather portfolio stamped with the official seal of the Federal Bankruptcy Court.
He placed a document on the table in front of Julian.
“The contract has a strict material asset damage clause, Mr. Sterling,”
Harrison stated,
his voice flat and military-grade.
“Your daughter just destroyed forty thousand dollars worth of imported premium ingredients and assaulted the owner of the property.
The contract is void. Furthermore,
the three hundred thousand dollars has been seized to cover the immediate property damages.”
Julian felt a cold sweat break out along his neck.
“Christian, please.
We’re partners on the logistics merger.
We can talk about this in the boardroom tomorrow.”
May you like
“The partnership was liquidated forty minutes ago, Julian,”
Christian replied coldly, pulling his blue iPhone from his pocket.
“Our internal audit team discovered your daughter has been overdrawing on the corporate line of credit to fund her personal luxury accounts.
The state district attorney has already signed the asset freeze.”
