I turned, pushing through the crowd, my heels clicking against the polished floor like gunshots.
"Tiffany, wait!" Carla, my only ally tonight, called after me.
But I couldn’t stop. Not here. Not now.
Outside, the cool night air hit me like a balm and a whip all at once.
My chest heaved as I stumbled into the garden, the towering hedges offering a fragile semblance of privacy.
My mind raced. The footage. What did he have? Could he truly destroy my father’s reputation?
"You’re stronger than this," I whispered to myself, my voice trembling with the effort to believe it.
Nathaniel wanted me broken, humiliated. He wanted to prove that I was powerless against him.
But he was wrong.
"You’ll pay for this, Nathaniel," I muttered, my voice gaining strength.
The sound of footsteps snapped my attention back.
"Running away already?"
I turned sharply, and there he was, leaning casually against the archway like he owned the world.
"Leave me alone, Nathaniel."
"Now, why would I do that?" he asked, stepping closer. "The fun’s just getting started."
He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. My breath hitched as he tapped the screen, his expression triumphant.
"Recognize this?"