Chapter 9 - The Charity Gala
The annual Blackwood Foundation Charity Gala was the most exclusive event of the year. To receive an invitation was to be acknowledged as a true player in the city. To be excluded was social death.
The ballroom of the Grand Hotel was dripping in crystal chandeliers, champagne towers, and silk gowns. The city's elite mingled, whispering about the one thing they always whispered about: Roman Blackwood and his elusive wife.
The massive mahogany doors swung open, and a hush fell over the room. The string quartet stopped playing.
Roman walked in, dressed in a bespoke black tuxedo that fit his broad shoulders perfectly. His presence commanded the room, a dark gravity that pulled every eye toward him. But it was the woman on his arm that left the crowd breathless.
Sadi wore a gown of midnight blue silk that clung to her curves, cascading down to the floor like liquid water. Her dark hair was swept up, revealing a diamond necklace that cost more than most of the estates represented in the room. She was glowing, confident, and utterly untouchable.
They descended the grand staircase. Mayors, senators, and CEOs parted like the Red Sea, offering polite bows and nervous smiles.
Across the room, serving champagne on a silver platter, a waiter in a slightly ill-fitting uniform froze.
Trevor stared at the woman descending the stairs. He had lied on his resume, scrubbed his identity, and begged the catering company just to get this one shift so he could eat tonight.
He looked at Sadi, radiant and powerful, holding the arm of the most dangerous man in the country. He remembered the diner. He remembered the unbranded jeans. He remembered the kick.
A sharp tap on his shoulder snapped him out of his trance. The head of security for the event—one of Roman’s men—was standing right behind him.
“Put the tray down,” the security guard whispered, his eyes dead.
“I’m just doing my job,” Trevor stammered, his heart hammering against his ribs.
“You don't have a job here anymore. Walk to the back exit, or I will drag you by your hair.”
May you like
Trevor set the tray down with trembling hands. He cast one last, lingering look at Sadi. She caught his eye from across the room. There was no smirk. No gloating. She simply looked through him, as if he were entirely invisible.
And in that moment, Trevor finally understood. He hadn't just lost his job or his money. He had lost his right to exist in her world. He walked out the back door into the cold, dark alley, entirely alone.
