Chapter 17 - Beneath the Surface
Marcus lunged forward, grabbing Genevieve’s wrist, but she violently twisted out of his grip, backing toward the center of the ballroom floor.
"Tell her, Marcus!" Genevieve shrieked, laughing with manic hysteria as dozens of phones began secretly recording from the edges of the room. "Tell your precious, saintly Elena the truth about that famous anniversary necklace!"
I stopped, my hand resting calmly on Adrien’s forearm. I felt Adrien’s muscle tighten, but his eyes remained locked on Marcus with lethal clarity.
"Genevieve, shut your mouth!" Marcus bellowed, his voice cracking with terror. "Keller, take her out!"
"He never bought that necklace for you, Elena!" Genevieve shouted, turning to face me with wild, bloodshot eyes. "He didn't design it for your fifth anniversary! He bought it three years prior at a private estate sale in Monaco—for ME! He promised it to me when we were in Saint-Tropez while you were sitting in that cold penthouse running his scheduling calendar!"
A collective gasp echoed across the grand hall.
Marcus froze, his hands trembling at his sides, his face turning an ashen shade of grey. He looked at me, his eyes pleading, desperate, utterly destroyed. "Elena... no, that's not... she's lying. She's insane—"
"And do you know why he gave it to me at the Met Gala that night, Elena?" Genevieve continued, her cruel smile revealing the rotting spite underneath. "Because I threatened to leak his shell company bank transfers to the Securities and Exchange Commission! He didn't give it to me out of love! He gave it to me as hush money! Your five-year marriage was collateral in an offshore tax fraud scheme, you pathetic little fool!"
The room was so quiet that the faint dripping of the champagne fountain sounded like thunder.
I looked at Marcus. The man who had strutted through our marriage with the supreme arrogance of an untouchable king. The man who had looked at me with cold contempt when I questioned his late nights. The man who had dared to stand on my porch in Maine and claim he was Julian’s father.
He wasn't a titan. He wasn't even a villain. He was merely a weak, cowardly boy trapped inside an empire he had inherited and never earned.
"Is this true, Marcus?" I asked. My voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the silence with the precision of a scalpel.
Marcus couldn't speak. His lips trembled, but no sound came out. The truth was written in the sweat pooling at his temples and the utter collapse of his posture.
"You used my anniversary gift as an off-the-books bribe to hide an SEC violation?" I asked softly, shaking my head with a pity so profound it crushed what little pride he had left.
"Elena... please," Marcus whimpered, taking a half-step toward me, reaching out a hand that trembled uncontrollably. "I was trying to protect the firm... I was trying to protect our future..."
May you like
"You didn't have a future with me, Marcus," I said, stepping backward, aligning myself perfectly with Adrien. "You only had an invoice. And the bill has finally arrived."
***
