Chapter 8 - The Confrontation on the Stage
Daniel was holding a crystal flute, his arm wrapped around Vanessa’s slender waist. His face twisted in shock and embarrassment as Claire strode past the VIP tables.
"Claire?" Daniel stammered, stepping away from the microphone. "What is the meaning of this? Security, I told you—"
"Quiet, Daniel," Claire said.
Her voice wasn't a shout. It was a command.
Vanessa stepped forward, her ivory gown shimmering under the spotlights, trying to reclaim the room. "Claire, darling, we understand you're bitter about the divorce, but crashing our charity gala is pathetic. Have some dignity. Think of your daughter."
"I am thinking of my daughter," Claire said, stopping three feet from Vanessa.
Claire raised her arm and held the spent yellow injector directly in front of Vanessa’s face.
"Do you recognize this, Vanessa?"
Vanessa’s eyes widened slightly, a flicker of raw terror piercing through her haughty mask. "I... I don't know what garbage you’re waving around—"
"It’s epinephrine," Claire announced, turning her body so every camera from the press riser had an unobstructed view. "It’s the medicine that just saved Chloe’s life after you forced an almond macaron down her throat in Suite 4B."
Gasps rippled across the room. Several high-profile donors exchanged horrified glances.
Daniel’s jaw clenched. "Claire, that’s an absurd accusation! Vanessa would never—"
"You forced her to eat it," Claire continued, stepping closer to Vanessa, her icy glare pinning the younger woman to the floor. "And when she couldn't breathe... when my six-year-old baby was vomiting blood on the floor... you snapped her emergency injectors in half and locked the door from the outside."
"Lies! She’s insane! Daniel, she’s trying to ruin us!" Vanessa panicked, stepping backward blindly.
Her stiletto heel caught the train of her ivory plunge gown. She flailed her arms, stumbling backward into the white linen banquet table.
With a deafening crash, the seven-tier champagne tower collapsed on top of her.
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👉 What played across the massive 50-foot presentation screens behind the stage?
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