Chapter 14 - The Unraveling
The fallout from the press conference was swift, brutal, and total.
By three o'clock that afternoon, *The Wall Street Journal* published a scathing exposé titled: *The Vampire of Wall Street: How Damian Cross Conned His Way to the Top on His Ex’s Dime.*
Public sentiment shifted violently. The internet, which had been weaponized against me hours earlier, turned its fury upon Damian and Victoria with nuclear force. TikTok creators dissected every receipt I had displayed; Twitter hashtags calling for Damian’s disbarment trended number one globally.
Sitting in Gabriel’s private study, I watched the financial ticker at the bottom of CNBC.
*LANGFORD REAL ESTATE TRADING HALTED AFTER 34% DROP IN MORNING SESSION.*
*CROSS & ASSOCIATES EXPELS JUNIOR PARTNER DAMIAN CROSS PENDING CRIMINAL PROBE.*
The office door opened, and Claire walked in, her face glowing with rare, vindictive satisfaction.
"Miss Collins," Claire said, presenting her tablet. "Richard Langford has just officially broken his daughter’s engagement to Damian Cross. A public statement was issued ten minutes ago stating that Mr. Cross’s conduct was 'incompatible with the values of the Langford family.'"
I exhaled a long, slow breath.
He was ruined. In less than forty-eight hours, Damian had lost his job, his high-society fiancée, his apartment, and his future. He was drowning in the very debt he had tried to bury me with.
"Where is he now?" I asked.
"Security reports he was escorted from his office by building security thirty minutes ago," Claire replied. "His personal belongings were handed to him in a cardboard box on the sidewalk."
Poetic justice was a strange thing. It didn't taste sweet like sugar; it tasted like clean, crisp winter air after suffocating in smoke for four years.
"Thank you, Claire," I said softly.
Claire bowed slightly and exited, leaving me alone in the vast study.
A moment later, Gabriel entered through the connecting terrace doors, the wind ruffling his dark hair. He had removed his jacket, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing the lean, corded muscle beneath.
"You did well today, Ava," he said, walking over to the bar and pouring two glasses of sparkling water with lemon.
"I couldn't have done it without your platform, Gabriel," I admitted, looking at the city skyline beyond the glass. "Thank you. For protecting my grandmother. For giving me my dignity back."
Gabriel handed me a glass, his eyes holding mine with an intensity that made the breath catch in my throat.
"Dignity is not something I gave you, Ava," he said quietly, his voice deep and rough around the edges. "You had it all along. I merely provided the spotlight."
He stepped closer, close enough that I could smell the familiar scent of cedar and spice that had become my sanctuary over the past two days.
"Now that Damian is dealt with," Gabriel murmured, his gaze dropping briefly to my lips before rising back to my eyes, "we must prepare for the real battle."
"The Thorne board?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat.
"My family dinner is tomorrow night," Gabriel said, a dark shadow passing over his features. "My uncle Marcus and my stepbrother Julian have invited us to the Thorne estate in Greenwich. They know the contract marriage is a threat to their control. They will do everything in their power to break you."
I straightened my shoulders, the fire that had ignited on that press stage burning brighter than ever.
"Let them try," I said.
Gabriel stared at me for a long, quiet moment, and then, very slowly, reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his thumb grazing my cheekbone with an unexpected, searing gentleness.
May you like
"I believe they’re going to regret underestimating you, Ava," he whispered. "Just as I almost did."
***