Chapter 5 - The Collapse of an Empire
Adrian Vaughn knew he was finished.
The charm was gone. The saintly veneer had cracked wide open, revealing the desperate, cornered rat beneath. He looked out at the sea of disgusted faces—the board members who had funded his research, the reporters typing furiously on their phones, the donors who were already pulling out their checkbooks in profound revocation.
In a blind panic, Adrian lunged past the podium, ignoring Ethan entirely, and bolted straight toward the side wings where Ava stood.
“You ruin my life? You think you can destroy everything I built?” Adrian screamed, his face twisted into an ugly, feral grimace as he raised his hand to strike her.
Ava closed her eyes, instinctively flinching, bracing for the familiar, brutal impact she had endured a hundred times before.
It never came.
A heavy, iron grip caught Adrian’s wrist mid-air with the force of a hydraulic press.
Adrian cried out in agony as his wrist was violently twisted backward. He spun around, slamming face-first into the structural pillar of the stage as Ethan slammed him down with terrifying physical dominance.
“Touch her again,” Ethan breathed, his face inches from Adrian’s ear, “and I’ll break every bone in your hands—starting with the ones you use to operate.”
Before Adrian could struggle further, two massive, black-suited private security guards materialized out of the shadows, having sprinted up the stairs from the ballroom. They grabbed Adrian by the arms, hauling him up effortlessly and pinning his hands behind his back.
“Get him out of my sight,” Ethan ordered, straightening his cuffs. “Deliver him directly to the NYPD precinct downtown. Tell Commissioner Vance I want him held without bail pending a federal review of his medical licenses across all fifty states.”
“You can’t do this! I’m Dr. Adrian Vaughn! I’m a pillar of this city!” Adrian screeched, kicking and thrashing as the guards dragged him kicking and screaming across the stage and down the service stairs, his tuxedo jacket torn and his dignity completely obliterated.
The heavy oak doors of the ballroom slammed shut behind them, cutting off his frantic cries.
The room was left in a heavy, shell-shocked hush.
Ethan stood alone on the center of the stage, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling beneath his tailored vest. Slowly, he turned around.
May you like
His gray eyes searched the wings until they found Ava.
He didn't wait for the applause. He didn't care about the cameras. He walked off the stage, bypassed the front rows, and strode directly down the aisle toward the wings where she stood.
