Chapter 6 - An Invitation to the Fire
"Tonight at eight o'clock," Vincent said, watching Harper closely, "Trevor Cole is hosting a black-tie gala at the Peninsula Hotel downtown. He is celebrating the final acquisition of Cole Capital by Calder Global."
"He thinks you're buying his company?" Harper asked, her voice trembling between shock and outrage.
"He thinks my board is finalizing a twenty-million-dollar buyout," Vincent replied, a cold, predatory smile playing on his lips. "He’s there right now with Chloe Vance—the daughter of a city councilman. He believes tonight marks his official entry into Chicago’s elite."
Vincent took two slow steps toward Harper. He was towering, powerful, yet his touch was remarkably gentle as his finger lightly grazed the corner of the gauze bandage wrapped around her wrist.
"He told you that you were a nightmare," Vincent said softly. "He told you that you weren't fit to be seen at galas."
Harper lowered her head, the shame burning hot under her skin.
"Look at me, Harper," Vincent ordered gently.
Harper hesitated, then lifted her gaze to meet his intense gray eyes.
"You took the flames of an explosion to save a dying man," Vincent said, his voice ringing with fierce conviction. "Those scars aren't a deformity. They are a medal of honor. Trevor Cole is a parasite who built a castle out of your pain. And tonight, I’m going to burn it to the ground."
Vincent extended his large, tattooed hand toward her.
"Come with me," he said. "Walk into that ballroom on my arm. Let’s show Trevor Cole who really owns him."
Harper looked at Vincent's outstretched hand. For three years, she had hidden from mirrors, cowered under Trevor's cruel remarks, and believed she was broken goods.
She felt a spark inside her chest ignite into an inferno.
She slipped her hand into Vincent’s firm grip. "Give me twenty minutes."
"Take thirty," Vincent smirked. "My car is waiting downstairs, and my stylist is already parked outside with a dress worthy of a queen."
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👉 When the double doors of the Peninsula Ballroom opened an hour later, no one was prepared for what walked through.
***
