The golden chandelier shimmered above me, casting its light over the hundred guests who moved through the grand hall. Laughter and clinking glasses filled the air, but beneath the glamour, I could hear the whispers.
"She's a force of nature."
"A gold-digger who played her cards right."
"She took everything from them. Can you believe it?"
I sipped my champagne, my lips curling into a small, unreadable smile. Their words didn't bother me. If anything, they fueled me.
Because tonight, I wasn't just celebrating my victory. I was here to deliver the final blow.
My gaze swept across the ballroom, finally landing on Daniel—the man who had once promised me forever, only to humiliate me on our wedding day. He looked hollow now, his once-arrogant smirk replaced with bitterness.
And standing beside him was the man I had married instead.
Nathaniel Lancaster. His father.
Nathaniel caught my gaze and lifted his glass in a subtle toast. There was amusement in his sharp gray eyes, a silent acknowledgment that he had been right about me all along.
I had stepped into his world as a scorned woman. Now, I ruled it.
I turned, ready to give my final speech of the night, when a voice whispered behind me—one I hadn't heard in a long time.
"You really think this is over, Evelyn?"
I froze.
Then, slowly, I turned to face my past.