A yellow taxi jerked to a stop in front of the grand, illuminated entrance of The Plaza Hotel.

Audie pushed the heavy door open and stepped out onto the pavement.

She was wearing a vintage, floor-length black couture gown she had borrowed from her best friend, Freddie.

The dress had zero embellishments. No lace, no sequins.

Just pure, heavy silk that clung to her curves and fell to the floor like liquid obsidian.

Against her pale skin, the stark black fabric made her look like a devastatingly beautiful black swan.

The uniformed doorman took one look at her cold, sharp expression and immediately pulled open the gold-leafed glass doors.

Audie stepped inside, her black stilettos sinking slightly into the plush red carpet leading to the grand ballroom.

She reached the entrance and handed her thick, embossed invitation card to the attendant holding the guest list.

The young man glanced down at the name Audie Bell, his eyes widening slightly in recognition of the gossip, before he quickly pulled open the heavy double doors.

Audie stepped into the blinding light of the ballroom.

The room was a chaotic blur of vibrant colors, pastel gowns, and clinking champagne glasses.

The moment she walked in, the sheer contrast of her funeral-black dress drew every eye in her immediate vicinity.

Conversations died out. Heads turned.

A few yards away, Tatum was clinging to Ryder's arm, laughing loudly with a group of guests.

Tatum's eyes flicked over, and the laugh died in her throat.

A flash of pure, unadulterated jealousy twisted Tatum's features.

Audie didn't even look at them.

She kept her chin high and walked straight toward the marble bar, ordering a club soda with lime.

"Audie? Oh, sweetheart, is that you?"

A warm, gentle voice broke through the tension behind her.

Audie turned and saw Marion Cole, Ryder's mother, rushing toward her.

Before Audie could speak, Marion threw her arms around her in a tight, genuine hug, completely ignoring her actual future daughter-in-law standing across the room.

Arthur Cole, Ryder's father, walked up right behind his wife.

He held a glass of scotch and offered Audie a wide, respectful smile.

"Audie," Arthur said, his tone entirely different from the way he spoke to Tatum. He spoke to Audie like an equal. "I was hoping you'd be here. Tell me, what's your read on the tech sector volatility this week? Are we looking at a bubble?"

Audie straightened her spine.

She seamlessly slipped into her Wall Street persona, breaking down the market trends with sharp, precise data points.

Arthur nodded along, highly impressed, occasionally asking a sharp follow-up question.

The sight of the Cole patriarch ignoring the bride-to-be to talk finance with the adopted sister sent ripples through the surrounding Manhattan socialites.

Whispers broke out like wildfire.

Tatum, standing a few feet away, squeezed her hands into fists so tight she crushed the delicate macaron she was holding.

She spun around and furiously whispered something into her mother's ear.

Eleanor Bell's face darkened.

She gripped her champagne flute and marched aggressively across the ballroom floor toward Audie.

Eleanor shoved her way into the small circle, slapping a fake, tight smile onto her face.

"Arthur, Marion," Eleanor interrupted loudly. "I see you've found our little Audie."

Eleanor turned her sharp gaze to Audie, looking her up and down with obvious disdain.

"Audie, darling, black? To an engagement party?" Eleanor tsked loudly. "It's a bit morbid, don't you think?"

Audie didn't flinch.

She offered Eleanor a cool, polite smile.

"Black is the most classic color in New York, Eleanor," Audie said smoothly. "It never goes out of style. Unlike some trends."

Marion immediately chimed in. "I completely agree. Audie looks incredibly elegant. She always has such impeccable taste."

Eleanor's face flushed a deep, ugly shade of mottled red.

Arthur cleared his throat, sensing the hostility. "Excuse us, Eleanor. I need to introduce Marion to the board members."

The Coles walked away, leaving Eleanor standing alone with Audie.

The fake smile instantly dropped from Eleanor's face.

She leaned in close, her voice dropping to a venomous hiss. "Do not try to ruin this night, Audie."

Audie stared down at her adoptive mother.

"Are you nervous, Eleanor?" Audie asked softly.

Eleanor's mouth opened, but no sound came out. She spun on her heel and stormed away.

Audie watched Eleanor retreat, her thumb aggressively rubbing against the knuckles of her left hand.

Needing a moment to breathe, she walked away from the bar and moved toward the massive floor-to-ceiling windows at the edge of the ballroom.

She stared out at the glittering lights of Central Park, trying to calm the rapid beating of her heart.

Tatum, however, was not going to let the humiliation go.

Seeing Audie isolated by the window, Tatum's jealousy completely overrode her common sense.

She grabbed a glass of pink champagne and motioned for her three closest, most vicious socialite friends to follow her.

The four women marched over, effectively trapping Audie in the corner between the glass and a heavy velvet curtain.

"Audie!" Tatum chirped, her voice artificially loud.

She shoved a small plate with a petit four toward Audie's chest. "Eat something. You look exhausted. I guess working those long hours at a desk really drains the life out of you."

The three women behind Tatum let out synchronized, mocking giggles.

Audie didn't take the plate. She just stared at Tatum's flushed face.

Annoyed by the lack of reaction, Tatum deliberately raised her left hand and dramatically pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

The massive, five-carat yellow diamond on her ring finger caught the overhead light, flashing brilliantly.

One of the socialites gasped right on cue.

"Tatum, that ring is just breathtaking. Ryder is so incredibly devoted to you."

Tatum smirked, shooting a triumphant look at Audie.

"Ryder bought it at Sotheby's last week," Tatum bragged, making sure her voice carried. "It's a vintage cut. I just hope, Audie, that one day you can find a man who can afford to treat you properly."

Audie's eyes slowly dropped to the massive yellow stone.

The corner of her mouth twitched upward into a cold, razor-sharp smile.

"It's a beautiful stone," Audie said, her voice calm and clinical. "The clarity is decent. But the vintage cut actually reduces the light refraction. It's a notoriously difficult stone to liquidate."

The giggling stopped. The socialites exchanged confused glances.

Tatum's smile faltered. "You don't know what you're talking about. It's priceless."

Audie leaned forward slightly, dropping her voice to a low, conspiratorial whisper that only the four women could hear.

"Did Ryder tell you how he paid for it?" Audie asked.

She didn't wait for an answer.

"I was just reviewing Cole Holdings' quarterly financial reports last week, and their cash flow is incredibly tight," Audie stated, dropping the deduction with absolute precision. "Spending this much capital on a yellow diamond with virtually no investment return? He didn't buy that ring with cash, Tatum. It's highly likely he bought it on a short-term, high-risk loan. Technically, the bank owns that diamond."

Audie looked Tatum dead in the eye.

"Congratulations on marrying into a family with a broken cash flow."

All the color instantly drained from Tatum's face.

Her skin turned an ashen gray. The hand holding the pink champagne began to shake violently.

The three socialites beside her suddenly stepped back.

They didn't understand the exact math, but they perfectly understood the word loan.

The look of envy in their eyes instantly morphed into sharp, judgmental scrutiny.

Tatum snapped.

With a furious shriek, she raised her glass of pink champagne and threw the liquid directly at Audie's face.

Audie's reflexes kicked in.

She shot her hand out, grabbing Tatum's wrist mid-air and shoving it violently backward.

The momentum sent the pink, sticky champagne flying backward in an arc.

The liquid splashed directly across the bodice of Tatum's custom white Chanel gown.

Tatum let out an ear-piercing scream that silenced the entire ballroom.

Audie calmly reached out and plucked a white cocktail napkin from a passing waiter's tray.

She wiped a single drop of champagne off her thumb.

She dropped the crumpled napkin right at Tatum's feet.

"Watch your posture, sister," Audie smiled. She turned and walked away.

The ballroom erupted into chaos.

Guests rushed toward Tatum, who was hysterically dabbing at the massive pink stain on her dress.

Audie used the distraction to slip through the side doors, escaping into a dimly lit, private hallway lined with heavy Persian rugs.

She had barely taken five steps when a hand clamped down hard on her bare bicep.

Fingernails dug painfully into her skin.

Eleanor yanked Audie backward, dragging her forcefully into a dark alcove hidden from the main corridor.

Eleanor was shaking with a rage so intense her teeth were practically chattering.

"Are you insane?!" Eleanor hissed, her voice a venomous whisper. "You ungrateful little bitch! You ruined the most important night of this family's life!"

Audie violently ripped her arm out of Eleanor's grip.

She rubbed her throbbing bicep, her eyes burning with a cold, furious fire.

"I just told her the truth about her precious diamond," Audie shot back.

Eleanor raised her hand, aiming a vicious slap right at Audie's face.

Audie caught Eleanor's wrist mid-air.

Her grip was like iron. She pushed Eleanor's hand back down, taking a step forward, forcing her adoptive mother to back up against the wall.

"Who do you think has been paying Liam's medical bills for the last five years?" Audie demanded, her voice shaking with years of suppressed rage.

"I've been cleaning up your mess for years, hoping you'd show a shred of decency. But after last night, I realized you never will. The deal is over." Audie took another step forward, her eyes locked onto Eleanor's.

"You embezzled money from his trust to cover your own bad investments, Eleanor. You forced me to work eighty-hour weeks to cover the gap so the board wouldn't find out."

Eleanor's eyes darted away, a flash of genuine panic crossing her face.

But she quickly recovered, lifting her chin to look down her nose at Audie.

"If you ever cause a scene like this again," Eleanor threatened, her voice dripping with malice, "I will call the clinic tomorrow and freeze Liam's account. He will be thrown out on the street."

Audie let out a hollow, broken laugh.

It was the sound of the very last thread of her familial loyalty snapping in half.

She reached into her clutch and pulled out her cell phone.

Her thumb tapped the screen.

A clear, crisp audio recording of Eleanor's voice played from the speaker: "...freeze Liam's account. He will be thrown out on the street."

Eleanor's face turned the color of chalk.

She lunged forward, clawing frantically at the phone.

Audie easily stepped out of reach, slipping the phone back into her bag.

"If Liam's account misses a single payment," Audie said, her voice dead and hollow, "this recording goes straight to Child Protective Services and the fraud division of the SEC."

Audie stared at the woman who had made her life hell for a decade.

"I am done with you. I am done with this family."

She turned around and walked out of the alcove.

Her heels dug into the thick carpet, each step heavy and final.

"You will be nothing in this city!" Eleanor screamed behind her.

Audie didn't look back.

She turned the corner of the hallway and suddenly stopped.

The adrenaline crashed out of her system all at once. Her knees buckled slightly, and she slumped against the cool marble wall, closing her eyes to catch her breath.

Then, a scent hit her.

Cold cedarwood mixed with expensive cigar smoke.

Audie's eyes snapped open.

She turned her head toward the shadows on the opposite side of the corridor.

Jaren Jarvis was leaning casually against a marble pillar.

He was wearing a flawlessly tailored black tuxedo.

In his right hand, he was slowly flipping a silver lighter open and closed.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

The small flame illuminated his sharp jawline and those deep, predatory eyes she recognized instantly from the Maybach.

Audie's breath hitched in her throat.

Jaren stopped playing with the lighter.

He looked at her, the corner of his mouth lifting into a slow, devastating smirk.

His eyes were dark, intense, and filled with absolute, unfiltered admiration.

"Brilliant counterattack, Miss Bell," his deep voice rumbled through the quiet hallway.