I looked straight into my fiancé’s eyes as he poured expensive champagne all over my wedding dress, right in front of hundreds of guests at our luxury engagement party.
“I looked straight into my fiancé’s eyes as he poured expensive champagne all over my wedding dress, right in front of hundreds of guests at our luxury engagement party. ‘Do you really think a penniless orphan like you deserves to step into the Miller family?’ his mother laughed out loud, while his new mistress stood beside them with a triumphant smirk.”
The ballroom of the Plaza Hotel went dead silent.
I stood there, soaked in Dom Pérignon, the cold liquid dripping from my hair onto the pristine white silk of my dress.
My fiancé, Thomas Miller, didn’t even look guilty. Instead, he wrapped his arm tightly around the waist of Chloe, a wealthy shipping heiress.
“Let’s face reality, Sarah,” Thomas said, his voice echoing through the microphone. “Our engagement was a mistake. Chloe is the one who can actually help my family’s business. You’re just a nobody from the streets.”
The crowd erupted into whispers. Some gasped, but most of them stared at me with mocking eyes, enjoying the public humiliation of the “poor girl” who tried to climb the social ladder.
Thomas’s mother stepped forward, her diamond necklace flashing under the chandeliers. She pulled a check from her purse and threw it at my feet.
“Here is $10,000 for your wasted time,” she sneered. “Now, pick it up and get out of our sight.”
I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream.
Slowly, I looked down at the check on the floor, and then looked up at the Miller family. A cold, calm smile formed on my lips. I pulled out my phone, pressed a single speed-dial button, and put it on speaker.
“Sir?” a sharp voice answered instantly on the other end. “We are outside the hotel. Is the announcement ready?”
“Cancel the $500 million investment into Miller Enterprises,” I said clearly into the phone. “And initiate a hostile takeover. Effective immediately.”
Thomas blinked, suddenly laughing nervously. “What kind of game are you playing, Sarah? You think a fake phone call is going to scare—”
Before he could finish, his phone buzzed violently. Then his mother’s phone rang. Then his father’s.
Thomas pulled out his screen. His face drained of all color instantly.
“What… what is this?” Thomas stammered, his hands shaking. “Our stocks are crashing! The board just received a buyout notice from the Vanguard Group!”
“Vanguard?” his father gasped, running over. “That’s the multi-billion-dollar conglomerate owned by the mysterious billionaire heiress, Victoria Vance! No one has ever seen her face!”
I reached up, unpinned my hair, and wiped the champagne from my face with a napkin. I looked directly into the eyes of the man who had just dumped me.
“Nice to finally meet you, Thomas,” I said softly. “I am Victoria Vance.”
The entire ballroom froze. Thomas dropped his phone, the screen shattering on the marble floor. His mother choked on her breath, her face turning pale as ashes.
Just then, the heavy double doors of the ballroom burst open, and a line of men in black suits rushed in, followed by a middle-aged man holding a golden briefcase. He walked past the shocked crowd and bowed deeply to me.
“Ms. Vance,” the man said loudly. “The takeover is complete. But that’s not all. We just uncovered the secret document your late grandfather left behind regarding the Miller family’s past.”
He opened the briefcase, revealing an old photograph and a blood-stained letter.
Thomas’s father looked at the papers and fell to his knees, trembling. “No… please… don’t reveal that…”
