As soon as David proposed to her, all the cameras and microphones turned towards Juliet for her response. It was a major celebrity moment that would dominate headlines for days. Juliet and David used to be childhood friends when the Cross and Forbes families were close. Their grandfathers played golf every weekend and acted like brothers, even jokingly promising each other that they'd unite their families through marriage. Until the companies became rivals and the friendship curdled. Juliet took a slow breath and shook her head gently. "I'm sorry. I respect your gesture, but I can't marry you." David's charming smile stayed in place. He wasn't about to give up so easily. In public, the Cross heir had a sterling reputation for his business acumen, leadership skills, and flawless character. However, David's close friends knew the monster he was—a womaniser who preyed on young women as a hobby. He traveled the world, choosing his victims from among innocent, unsuspecting ones. Juli

Jack said nothing about Juliet's outburst or the slap she had landed on him. Although he had momentarily enjoyed an unexpected view of her cleavage, his attention had already moved to the small button he had extracted from her dress. "It's a tracking device," Jack said with a raised eyebrow. "Your enemies want to monitor your location." Juliet covered herself with one hand and her mouth in shock with the other. "A tracking device in my dress? Who would do that to me? And how?" Jack chuckled and turned towards Elena. "Wasn't she the one who got the dress for you? How long has she been working at the company?" As Juliet turned towards her assistant questioningly, Elena immediately reacted to the accusation. "How dare you level such a vile allegation at me?" "I only purchased the dress, and then it went through the company's security measures. How am I responsible if someone planted the device?" "Then you wouldn't mind showing me your phone?" Jack asked. "The recent calls you made,

Juliet's jaw tightened, but she stayed silent. The group moved to a smaller side table for drinks, Lydia and Cathy pulling Dean along while dragging Juliet and Jack with them. Lydia wasted no time. She turned to Dean with a dramatic sigh. "You should see what Juliet brought. A worthless driver who thinks he belongs at our table." "He's even dressed like a laborer at our family gala. What a gold digger!" Cathy nodded eagerly. "Exactly. Jack is such a joke. Dean, you should see how he played with our guard dogs like some homeless man who wandered in. Yuck." Dean smirked, looking Jack up and down. "Juliet definitely deserves a better man." Dean had been visiting the newly installed Drummonds refinery when he first spotted Juliet in the newspapers and became fixated on her. Right now, he was using Cathy to get close. The Drummonds heir rose to his feet and approached Jack. "How about a game of chess? If you win, I'll acknowledge you. If I win, you leave this gala and never come back.

The doctors present at the gala rushed over, checking Rick's pulse and breathing. One of them shook his head grimly. "We have to rush him to the hospital right now, but it looks too late." "His heart is failing fast," another doctor chimed in. "It looks like poisoning. We need a stomach pump and intravenous injections. There's nothing we can do here." "Even if we carry Mayor Albany to the hospital, his heart would give out. It's too late." Sophia burst into tears and looked up at the Forbes table for help. Grandfather Donald slowly stood up, his face turned to stone with panic. If the Mayor died at his gala, the Forbes reputation would be ruined for years. Headlines would scream scandal and murder. Business deals would collapse. He looked desperately around the table. Juliet noticed her grandfather spiraling. She looked at Rick Albany's still face, at Sophia weeping on the floor, at the doctors already stepping back from the body as though conceding the fight. Her eyes moved to J

Selena locked her eyes onto Jack where he stood against the wall. She wanted to run to him. The crowd of paparazzi and fans surrounded her, their cameras flashing like fireworks, but she seemed to see only him. Her entourage tried to guide her towards the private lounge, but she broke free for a second and took a step in his direction. "Jack?" she called out, her voice barely audible over the noise. "Wait, I need to talk to you!" Jack pretended not to hear her. He kept his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the opposite wall, acting like just another random guard. The last thing he needed was Juliet, his future wife, finding out that he had spent the previous evening in a hotel room with a beautiful celebrity in the same building. Selena's manager, Lexi, a sharp woman in a black pantsuit, grabbed her arm firmly. "Miss Hart, we're late for the meeting. Maybelin and Juliet are waiting, and you have a photoshoot an hour later. Let's go inside now." She pulled Selena towards the priva