The Grand Ballroom of the Pierre Hotel was a sea of black ties, champagne flutes, and predatory smiles. For the elite of Manhattan, this was a gala; for Nora Davis, it was a firing squad.She stood at the top of the marble staircase, her breath hitched in a throat constricted by a diamond choker that felt like a leash. Her dress was a masterpiece of midnight-blue silk, chosen by Kael to project power, not grace."Smile, Nora," Kael’s voice whispered in her hidden earpiece. He was somewhere in the crowd below, playing the role of the distant, disinterested billionaire. "Julian Vane doesn't buy assets that look broken. He buys assets that look like they’re worth conquering."Nora descended, her heels clicking like a countdown. At the bottom of the stairs stood Julian Vane.Up close, he was even more terrifying than the reports suggested. He didn't have the "Algorithm's" coldness; he had something worse—Charisma. He looked at Nora not as a bride, but as a hostile takeover he had alr
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