CHAPTER 5: EVERY GLASS STOPPED MOVING

The guards reached the exits.
One stood before the main double doors. Another moved toward the side hallway near the service entrance. A third hotel security man, called by Richard before he entered, stepped into place beside the back corridor.
The ballroom became a locked box of wealth.
Guests held still with champagne glasses in their hands. A woman in emerald silk lowered her eyes. A senator's wife pressed her lips together. Two waiters stood near a column, unable to pretend they had not seen Ethan's pale face.
Ethan searched for an ally.
He found only people calculating distance.
"This is illegal," he said.
Richard's expression did not change. "So is assault. So is theft. So is using a charity account as your personal staircase."
Ethan blinked.
The word theft moved through the room without sound.
Isabelle lifted her chin.
"You should've checked who my father was."
Ethan looked back at her then.
Not at the bruise.
Not at the cut.
At the last name he had ignored because he thought she was a woman without protection.
That was when his confidence truly broke.
Not because he felt guilt.
Because he saw consequences.