But Charles had not yet intervened.
He was hoping Victoria would stop.
She didn't.
Instead, Victoria raised her glass.
"Well," she announced, "if silence is the only answer, maybe we should toast to it."
She walked toward Amara.
Her heels clicked against the marble.
Guests shifted aside.
Victoria stopped directly beside the table.
She raised her glass.
Amara looked at it.
Then at Victoria.
"Don't."
Victoria smiled.
"Don't what?"
"You know."
Victoria laughed.
"I have no idea what you mean."
She tilted her wrist.
The wine spilled.
Dark red liquid poured across Amara's orange satin gown.
The room gasped.
The stain spread across the fabric.
Victoria immediately put one hand against her chest.
"Oh!"
A few nervous laughs escaped.
"I'm so sorry."
But nobody believed it.
The movement had been too deliberate.
Lena's camera captured everything.
Amara looked down at the stain.
Then slowly back at Victoria.
Her breathing remained steady.
Victoria smiled.
"Red looks better on you anyway."
No one laughed.
The room had finally understood.
This was no longer a joke.
It was cruelty.
Amara picked up her napkin.
She placed it gently over the stain.
Then she looked at Victoria.
For the first time, there was something unmistakable in her eyes.
Not rage.
Not fear.
Decision.
Victoria didn't recognize it.
She was too accustomed to believing that the person who spoke loudest controlled the room.
She lifted her chin.
"Security!"
Two guards began moving toward them.
"Please escort this woman out."
Lena whispered:
"She's actually doing it."
Kenji looked at his wife.
"This is going to end badly."
"For Victoria?"
Kenji nodded.
"Very badly."
The Line Victoria Crossed
The security guards reached Amara's table.
One of them spoke respectfully.
"Ma'am, could we ask you to come with us?"
Amara looked at him.
"Why?"
He hesitated.
"There's been a disturbance."
Victoria laughed.
"She caused it."
The guard looked uncomfortable.
Amara glanced at Victoria.
"I didn't."
Victoria pointed toward the stain.
"Look at your dress."
Amara looked down.
"I am."
"You made a scene."
"I haven't moved."
That sentence drew a few quiet laughs.
Victoria's face hardened.
"Enough."
She turned toward the guards.
"Remove her."
The guards exchanged another glance.
They didn't want to touch her.
Something about the woman in orange made them hesitate.
Amara didn't look frightened.
She didn't look angry.
She looked as though she had already made a decision that none of them understood.
Then she reached into her clutch.
Victoria laughed.
"What are you doing now?"
Amara took out her phone.
"I'm making a call."
"To whom?"
Amara ignored her.
She dialed a number.
The phone rang once.
Then a voice answered.
"Ms. Johnson?"
Amara spoke calmly.
"Initiate Protocol Seven."
The person on the other end paused.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
"What should we activate?"
"Everything."
A silence.
Then:
"Understood."
Amara continued.
"Pull the Hail agreement."
The room grew quieter.
"Freeze all pending transfers."
"Yes."
"Notify legal."
"Already doing so."
"Begin withdrawal procedures."
"Understood."
"Effective immediately."
The call ended.
Victoria stared.
Then she laughed.
"What was that supposed to be?"
Amara placed the phone back inside her clutch.
"Your future."
Victoria's smile disappeared.
"What?"
Amara looked directly at her.
"You just asked me to leave."
"Yes."
"So I'm leaving."
Victoria nodded.
"Good."
"But I'm taking the deal with me."
The ballroom went silent.
Charles Hail stood abruptly.
"Amara."
She looked at him.
"Charles."
His voice was low.
"Please."
Amara shook her head.
"You should have stopped this earlier."
Charles looked at his daughter.
Victoria stared back at him.
"Dad?"
Charles said nothing.
Amara turned toward the room.
"My name is Amara Johnson."
Someone whispered:
"Orion Global."
Another voice:
"That's impossible."
Kenji stood.
"It isn't."
Everyone turned.
Kenji looked at Victoria.
"You have no idea what you've just done."
Victoria's face changed.
She looked toward Amara.
"You're..."
Amara finished for her.
"Yes."
She paused.
"I'm the CEO of Orion Global."
The ballroom erupted in whispers.
Lena almost dropped her phone.
She immediately began recording again.
Amara continued.
"My company is the principal financial partner behind the Hail acquisition."
She looked at Charles.
"Your company."
Charles closed his eyes briefly.
Amara turned toward the crowd.
"The value of the transaction is $4.9 billion."
Someone gasped.
A wineglass slipped from a server's tray and shattered on the floor.
Victoria stared at Amara.
"No."
Amara said nothing.
"You can't."
"I can."
"You wouldn't."
"I already did."
Victoria's phone buzzed.
She pulled it out.
Her hands began shaking.
The first email came from Hail Corporation's chief financial officer.
URGENT: ORION GLOBAL HAS FROZEN TRANSACTION FUNDING.
Another message arrived.
LEGAL HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.
Another:
BOARD REQUESTS EMERGENCY MEETING.
Victoria stared at the screen.
"No."
She refreshed.
The same messages remained.
Amara watched her quietly.
"You wanted to know whether I belonged here."
Victoria looked up.
Amara continued.
"You wanted to know whether I had been invited."
She paused.
"You wanted to know whether I was important."
Another pause.
"You have your answer."
The room was completely silent.
Victoria's face had gone pale.
"Please."
Amara looked at her.
"Please what?"
"Don't do this."
"You did this."
"It was a mistake."
"No."
Victoria shook her head.
"I was joking."
Amara's voice remained quiet.
"You poured wine on me."
"It was an accident."
"You called security."
"You were making everyone uncomfortable."
"You told me I didn't belong."
Victoria had no answer.
Amara took one step forward.
"You didn't humiliate me because you thought I was weak."
She paused.
"You humiliated me because you thought I was powerless."
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
Amara continued.
"And that is a much bigger problem."
Kenji raised his glass.
"That," he said, "is the difference between arrogance and leadership."
Several people nodded.
Victoria turned toward her friends.
"Say something."
Nobody moved.
"Rebecca?"
Rebecca looked away.
"Please."
No response.
One by one, people began stepping backward.
The social circle that had surrounded Victoria only an hour earlier suddenly became a group of strangers.