Chapter 30 - Threads of Betrayal
The auction hall exploded into murmurs. Head after head whipped in my direction.
Julian vaulted to his feet, gripping the brass railing of the balcony. "She’s bluffing! Her accounts are capped by the commercial court! Check her credentials!"
The auctioneer paused, looking nervously toward the head of the house.
I didn't blink. I raised my phone, connecting my screen directly to the hall's digital display board. The projector hummed to life, projecting a legal notification from the Swiss Federal Banking Commission.
"Monsieur Julian’s funds are based on credit backed by Valmont-Dubois holdings," I announced, my voice carrying effortlessly across the vaulted ceiling. "Unfortunately for him, three hours ago, the European Commission launched an antitrust embargo against Xavier Valmont’s Lyon textile monopoly based on the black ledger surrendered to the authorities this morning."
Xavier Valmont’s face turned gray. His phone began buzzing furiously on the velvet table.
"My bid of twenty million euros," I continued, stepping directly beneath Julian's balcony, "is backed by liquid cash from the complete sale of Julian’s seized real estate portfolio in Manhattan and London. In essence, Julian... you just bought my family heirloom for me with your own ruined life."
Julian’s face twisted in savage rage. He slammed his fist onto the balcony railing. "You bitch! You think a loom will save you? Haute Couture Week opens tomorrow night! You don't have a headlining piece! You have twenty-four hours to show thirty looks, and half your embroidery staff walked out this morning!"
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The room fell pin-drop quiet.
Julian’s cruel laugh echoed off the gold-leaf molding. "Did you think I was just sitting in a jail cell, Clara? I paid off your head seamstresses. The Firebird Gown is half-finished. Tomorrow night at the Grand Palais, you will present an empty runway—and the House of Vane will be buried forever!"
