Chapter 9

The annual charity gala was the biggest event of the year.

Everyone would be there. Politicians. Business leaders. Old money. New power.

Including the Thompsons. Including James.

Vincent asked me to go with him. As his guest. As his daughter.

I hesitated. Then I said yes.

I chose a dress of deep emerald. Simple. Elegant. I wore my hair up. Vincent gave me a necklace that had belonged to my mother—pearls resting softly against my collarbone.

When I stepped out, he stood speechless.

“You look like her,” he whispered. “Exactly like her.”

We arrived together. Hand in hand.

Every head turned.

Vincent “The Viper” Gallo. And on his arm… the daughter no one knew existed.

Whispers rippled through the room.

“Who is she?”

“Is that his daughter?”

“I heard she was married to James Thompson…”

I walked tall. Chin up. Eyes forward.

Then I saw them.

James. His parents. Sophia. Standing near the far wall. Frozen.

James looked pale. His father looked furious. His mother looked like she’d seen a ghost.

I walked toward them. Vincent beside me.

I stopped right in front of them.

“Good evening,” I said. Calm. Clear. Confident.

No one spoke.

James’s mother found her voice first.

“Emily… we had no idea…”

“Of course you didn’t,” I said. “You never asked. You never cared who I was. Only that I wasn’t good enough for your precious son.”

I looked at James.

“You treated me like dirt. You humiliated me on our anniversary. You threw me out with nothing. And all because you thought I had no one.”

I stepped closer.

“But I did have someone. He was looking for me. And he loves me. Something you will never understand.”

I looked at Sophia.

“You can have him. And all the emptiness that comes with him.”

Then I looked at all of them.

“You didn’t just lose me that night. You lost your decency. Your humanity. And now everyone here knows exactly who you are. Trash. Not me.”

I turned to leave. Then paused.

“By the way,” I said quietly. “Half your assets are being transferred to the foundation I’m creating. To help women like me. Women you think are beneath you.”

James’s mouth fell open.

“You can’t—”

“I can. And I have. Goodbye, James.”

I walked away. Head high. Heart light.

Vincent squeezed my hand.

“That was magnificent,” he said.

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I smiled.

“Justice doesn’t always mean destroying people,” I said. “Sometimes it just means letting them see exactly what they threw away.”