Chapter 18 - The Gala Ambush
The crystalline notes of the string quartet faltered and died away as Arthur Sterling’s heavy, uneven footsteps echoed across the parquet floor.
"Daniel!" Sterling shouted, his voice cracking with desperate, unhinged intensity.
The entire ballroom turned to stone. Hundreds of guests froze mid-conversation, their flutes of champagne hovering near their lips as their eyes darted to the intruder.
Daniel Carter did not flinch. He did not step back, nor did he raise his hands. He simply turned slowly, shielding Ava slightly with his left arm while his right hand remained resting comfortably in his tuxedo pocket. His expression remained utterly unreadable—a mask of cold, unyielding diamond.
Beside him, Ava remained completely still. Her dark eyes fixed on Sterling without fear, remembering the exact same frantic cruelty he had displayed in row two of Flight 402.
"Arthur," Daniel said, his voice quiet, calm, and terrifyingly clear. "You are trespassing on private property."
"Trespassing?" Sterling let out a bitter, strangled laugh that made several nearby socialites take a frightened step backward. "I bought a table at this event, Daniel! I have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to this foundation over the years! And you destroy my company in six hours? You call my lenders? You revoke my contracts?"
He jabbed a shaking, accusatory finger directly toward Ava.
"Over her?" Sterling shrieked, his face turning an ugly, mottled shade of crimson. "Over a spoiled little girl who didn't want to give up a window seat? She’s twelve years old, Daniel! She doesn't need first class! She doesn't understand the corporate world! You sacrificed a twenty-million-dollar logistics alliance because your daughter threw a childish tantrum over seat 2A!"
The room erupted into gasps of shock. Several executives shook their heads in utter disbelief at Sterling’s suicidal audacity.
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Sterling took another aggressive step forward, breathing heavily, his chest heaving under his rumpled shirt. "Tell them, Daniel! Tell these people that you let personal pettiness ruin an empire! Tell them you're willing to bankrupt three thousand employees at Sterling Global just to pamper your daughter!"
The silence that followed was suffocating. Everyone held their breath, waiting for Daniel Carter’s explosive fury to obliterate the man standing before him.
