The nearby guests exchanged nervous glances.
Claire Laurent gripped her cane so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Her sharp eyes remained fixed on Erick, suspicion growing.
“Who,” she asked slowly, her icy voice cutting through the ballroom, “is Quade?”
Senior executives near the back stiffened.
Leroy stepped forward, forcing a calm smile.
“Ma’am,” he said softly, “he’s not here.
Victor’s been under pressure lately—the markets, the board, company affairs…clearly, it’s been too much.”
Claire sharply waved him away.
“Then answer it.” Her gaze never left Erick.
Remi stood near the champagne tower, watching silently.
Unlike the others, she didn’t seem shocked.
Evelyn kept nervously glancing between Victor and the growing crowd of wealthy guests, pretending not to eavesdrop.
“Leroy,” she whispered urgently, “do something before this turns into a disaster.”
But Claire stepped forward slowly.
“For years,” she said coldly, “I’ve heard that name whispered in private rooms by wealthy men who thought they feared nothing.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“And now Victor Hale stares at Dominique’s husband as if he’s seen the devil himself.”
Silence fell.
Even the string quartet stopped playing.
Erick remained still near the stage, champagne glass in hand.
Claire studied him closely.
“Well?” she demanded.
“Will you explain, or do you just enjoy watching powerful men crumble in public?”
Erick stirred his champagne once before answering.
“Quade?” he repeated calmly.
“A man, Victor Hale, spent five years ensuring no one spoke of him.”
The ballroom seemed to grow colder.
Victor suddenly grabbed a medic’s arm with surprising strength.
“Don’t let him near me,” he rasped.
The medic frowned in confusion, but Victor’s terrified eyes stayed locked on Erick.
“He…”
Evelyn rushed to Victor’s side.
“Take him upstairs,” she ordered the medics.
“Now.” She shot Remi a sharp look.
“And make sure no footage of tonight leaks.
I don’t care what it costs.”
Remi raised an eyebrow.
“You want me to bribe journalists at a charity event?”
“I want you to fix it.
Now.” Evelyn hissed, then turned on her heels.
Meanwhile, Leroy edged closer to Erick, sweating despite his diplomatic smile.
“Erick,” he said carefully, “do you know Victor?
Forget it… of course you don’t.” He lowered his voice.
“Help with the medic.
Michel hates hospitals.”
Erick glanced at him calmly.
“Of course, Leroy.”
Leroy’s diplomatic smile tightened slightly.
Claire spoke again.
“I don’t know what’s happening, Leroy,” she said quietly, “but I want a family meeting as soon as possible.”
“Erick,” Dominique hissed, grabbing his arm hard enough to wrinkle his sleeve, “what the hell are you doing?”
Her eyes burned with panic now.
“Victor collapsed in front of half of Manhattan.”
“Yet,” he said softly, “he just stared at me.”
Dominique’s face tightened.
Before she could respond, hotel security and medics began clearing a path through the ballroom.
Guests stepped aside quickly, whispering behind raised glasses and expensive jewelry.
Victor was loaded onto a stretcher.
Even now, the old man’s eyes darted frantically through the crowd, searching for Erick—the face of the man who’d betrayed him and his father’s legacy.
“Move carefully!” Evelyn snapped at the medics.
“Do you have any idea what this man is worth?”
A reporter tried moving closer for footage.
Michel immediately blocked the camera.
“No recordings!” he barked, sweat beading on his forehead.
He looked far less pleased than when he’d been sabotaging reputations onstage earlier.
Meanwhile, Erick slipped away unnoticed.
“I’m family,” he murmured smoothly.
No one stopped him.
Most attendees still couldn’t decide whether to fear him or laugh at him.
That uncertainty shielded him better than any bodyguard.
Erick slipped through the shifting mass of guests and followed them toward the service hallway.
“I’m family,” he said smoothly when a security guard hesitated.
The man let him pass.
An ambulance waited with its lights flashing red against the wet street.
Victor’s breathing was labored.
“Possible heart episode,” one medic muttered.
“No,” Victor whispered weakly.
“No hospital…”
The medic ignored him.
As they loaded Victor inside, Erick approached calmly.
Victor’s face twisted in a fresh terror when he spotted him.
His fingers trembled violently.
“No… keep him away!”
One of the medics stepped in front of him.
“Sir, you can’t…”
“You really want the Laurent family suing the hospital tonight?” Erick asked calmly.
The medic hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“Erick.”
Remi’s voice stopped him.
She stood beside the open ambulance doors, arms folded across her black evening gown.
Rain glimmered against her dark hair while her sharp eyes studied Erick carefully.
“This isn’t over,” she murmured.
“We need to talk.
Brother-in-law.”