Chapter 15

At that moment, the weight of silence in the hall grew thicker than the air.

Every eye was trained on William Victor.

He hadn’t moved a muscle since James’ words pierced the hall like an arrow dipped in venom. But something in his eyes changed no, snapped.

It was a cold, unreadable fire burned in them. The calm elegance of the Victor family’s eldest young master evaporated into something dangerous.

James, oblivious to the storm brewing, still wore a twisted smirk on his face. He thought he’d made a statement, and he needed to take action now.

But that smirk didn’t last long.

With quiet fury, William took one step forward. Another. His shoes tapped across the marble floor like a countdown. The crowd parted like a curtain, instinctively stepping back, holding their breath.

Before anyone could blink.

“SMACK p>

A loud, bone-stinging slap echoed through the hall like thunder. James’ head jerked to the side violently, and a thin gasp swept through the audience.

At that moment some people covered their mouths, others froze with eyes wide.

The slap was so clean, so shocking, so public—it told everyone exactly where the Victor family stood.

James staggered.

He didn’t fall but he might as well have. His pride was already flat on the floor.

Then William’s hand dropped back to his side, but his voice cut sharper than the slap itself.

“I warned you,” he said with a low growl. “Don’t ever and I mean ever dare to open your filthy mouth to insult that woman again p>

His tone didn’t waver. His voice filled the room without shouting, yet each word slammed into James like a hammer.

“This is your last warning p>

James blinked rapidly, trying to steady himself, but William took one more step forward. They were eye to eye now one full of humiliation, the other full of unshakable dominance.

Then William leaned in just slightly, his voice now lowered to a venomous whisper.

“You better start thanking your gods he said slowly, each syllable carrying weight, “that she doesn’t want me to do something obsessive to you right now p>

Immediately his lips curled into a small, dangerous smirk.

“Because if she gave me permission… you’d be gone by now p>

Immediately he stepped back.

“You’d have been gone even before you started p>

At that moment, William turned around, his hands behind his back, his chin slightly raised commanding without effort, powerful without shouting.

His voice came cold and steady.

“The meeting is over. Everyone can now go home p>

At that moment a chill swept through the entire event hall.

James stood frozen, blinking as if he didn’t hear right but the echo of William’s words was still vibrating through the room. People didn’t wait for a second announcement. One by one, chairs shuffled. High heels clicked. Shoes tapped. Conversations died off like a candle blown out by a storm.

This was no longer a celebration.

This was a funeral, a funeral for James’ illusion of power.

In that instant, James tried to steady himself.

His hand reached slightly for the podium, as if trying to hold on to something that wouldn’t slip between his fingers but it was too late.

His thoughts were spiraling.

“That’s the kind of horror I should be afraid of? what a joke” he thought bitterly, teeth clenched, heart pounding.

“Cora p>

A woman who once clung to him. A woman who once cried to him. A woman who once begged him not to walk away. A woman who used to look at him like he was the sky itself.

That’s who he should fear?

At that moment his lips curled with disbelief. His eyes narrowed with a cocktail of rage and confusion.

“How could she become this? How could she flip the script p>

And worse—the people he wanted to impress now bowed to her instead.

Across the room, nobody dared linger. They moved like ants escaping fire. Those who had tried to greet James earlier now refused to look in his direction. Everyone remembered clearly how William had blacklisted three families on the spot.

If that could happen to those giants, what hope did the rest of them have? Just by watching the scene how Cora stood untouched, how James looked like a clown under the spotlight they understood exactly what needed to be done.

No one wanted to be remembered as “the one who smiled at James Lewis the day the Victors turned their back on him p>

And just like that, the crowd thinned. Like water draining from a broken vase.

Because no one wants to be in the bad books of the Victors.

So, without wasting any more time, they immediately started walking out of the hall—quickly.

No one waited to be told twice. No one whispered. No one dared look around. In fact, most of them didn’t even say goodbye. They just left. Some even stumbled in their high heels and still didn’t stop walking. They didn’t want to be the last face William Victor might remember.

The once-glorious hall, full of flashing lights and cheerful music just moments ago, now felt like a courtroom after a harsh verdict had been passed. The walls echoed only footsteps and shame.

In less than five minutes, the mighty event was empty.

And it was just James, and Cora.

The silence between them was loud. Unforgiving.

James stood in the center of the spotlight, the plaque still in his hand a piece of plastic that now felt like a joke, He could hear his own heartbeat, He could hear the sound of his own breath, heavy with confusion and embarrassment.

He turned his head slowly to look at her.

His gaze wasn’t soft, It was sharp, accusing, full of disgust.

Not because he truly hated her but because she had done what he thought was impossible.

She had made him look weak, she had made him kneel without touching him.

He stared at her like she was filth.

But the pain in his eyes… that told the truth.

He couldn’t say anything. No witty remarks. No sarcastic jabs. No threats.

Nothing came out, his lips moved slightly, but he couldn’t find the words.

Everything was just too overwhelming, he wanted to scream. He wanted to throw the award. He wanted to rewind the entire day.

But most of all, he wanted to understand how this had happened.

How Cora—his ex-wife, the one he dismissed, the one he thought couldn’t stand without him, how she became the one to ruin him… in front of everyone.

No. That wasn’t possible, that couldn’t be it.

It had to be something else, a bigger hand. A secret plot.

At that moment he clenched his jaw tightly, sweat forming on his forehead.

In his mind, the only explanation he could accept was that he had offended someone far greater than he thought.

That’s the only way to explain all of this.