Heir to an Indispensable Family

Chapter 4

At that moment the stage lights suddenly cut out completely. The whole room went pitch black for a few seconds. Then soft blue lights started glowing from somewhere above, casting everything in an strange, dreamy color. People looked around confused, wondering if something went wrong with the equipment.

Then the blue faded away and warm cream-colored lights took over, making the whole place feel like some fancy royal event.

“What the hell is going on?” someone whispered from the crowd.

That's when people started noticing movement near the back of the room. Several women appeared out of nowhere, walking slowly down the center aisle. They wore elegant dresses and moved like they were in some kind of ceremony. Each woman carried armfuls of white and red rose petals, dropping them gently on the floor as they walked.

The sweet smell of fresh flowers filled the air. People stepped back to make room, their eyes following the trail of petals that led straight toward the stage where Sarah and James still stood frozen.

Immediately everyone's head turned when they heard the sound of heels clicking against the floor in perfect rhythm. Seven women dressed in sharp black business suits walked into the room like they owned the place. They moved together like a team, each one carrying a sleek black briefcase in their hands.

At that moment every single person in that room was thinking the same thing. Where did these women come from? What were they doing here? This wasn't part of Sarah's presentation. Nobody called for any special guests.

The seven women walked through the crowd like they were on a mission. People quickly moved out of their way, stepping back to create a clear path. Everyone expected them to head straight for the stage where Sarah and James were standing.

But they didn't.

Instead, they stopped right in front of Hector. All seven of them moved at the exact same time, bending forward in a perfect 90-degree bow like they'd practiced it a hundred times.

“Master, congratulations on your engagement!” Their voices rang out together, clear and respectful.

Hearing what the ladies just said, immediately the whole room went dead silent. You could hear people's hearts beating. Jaws dropped open. Eyes went wide with shock.

These gorgeous, professional women just called Hector their master. The same Hector that everyone was laughing at five minutes ago. The same nobody that Sarah just finished humiliating on stage.

People started whispering frantically to each other.

“Did they just call him master?”

“What engagement are they talking about?”

“Are they blind? Do they know who they're bowing to?”

“This has to be some kind of joke.”

Sarah felt her blood turn cold. She couldn't just stand on that stage and watch this happen. Something was very wrong here. This had to be some kind of mistake.

She rushed down from the stage, her heels clicking loudly against the floor as she hurried toward the scene.

Sarah's heart was beating so fast she could feel it in her throat. First, people in the crowd started saying Hector's ring was worth a million dollars. Now these professional women were bowing to him like he was some kind of king. Nothing made sense anymore.

Her hands were shaking as she got closer to the group of women.

“What is going on here?” Sarah's voice came out higher than she wanted it to.

The woman who seemed to be the leader turned around slowly to face Sarah. Her eyes were calm and professional, like she dealt with important business every single day.

“Miss, didn't you accept Master Hector's marriage proposal?”

Sarah's mouth opened and closed like a fish. She looked back and forth between Hector and the woman, trying to figure out what kind of game this was.

“I... no. No, I didn't.” Sarah's voice got stronger and meaner.

“Why would I ever agree to marry a loser like Hector?”

Sarah's answer made the head woman's eyes went wide with shock. She clearly wasn't expecting Sarah to talk about someone she called "Master" like that. But she kept her professional face on and didn't say anything back to Sarah.

“I see. Then there's no need for us to be here anymore.” The woman started to turn away from Sarah, ready to signal the other women to leave.

But Hector raised his hand up in the air.

“Wait.”

The woman stopped and looked back at him, waiting for his orders.

Then Hector turned to face Sarah directly. His voice was completely different now - not desperate or angry like before. It was calm and cold.

“Sarah, I was ready to give you the whole world if you had made our relationship public, if only you didn't pretend to love me, and take my for a fool. But thank God this happened today. He showed me who you really are underneath all that beauty.” Hector's eyes never left her face. “You're not worth my time anymore.”

Sarah's face twisted into something ugly. Her perfect features scrunched up with anger and confusion. She opened her mouth to say something nasty back to Hector, but he wasn't even looking at her anymore.

Instead, Hector nodded at the women in black suits.

“Open them up.”

The first woman stepped forward and clicked open her briefcase. The lid lifted slowly, and everyone heard people gasp all around the room.

Inside the briefcase, sitting on soft black velvet, were three golden necklaces. But these weren't just regular gold chains you'd see in some mall jewelry store. These were thick, heavy pieces that caught the light and threw it back in everyone's faces. The gold was so pure it almost glowed.

“Those are real gold!” someone shouted from the crowd.

People started pushing forward, trying to get a better look. The necklaces were massive - the kind of jewelry that only the super rich could afford. Each link in the chains was perfectly crafted. Anyone could tell just by looking that these things were worth serious money.

Sarah stood frozen in place, staring at the necklaces. Her brain started doing math she didn't want to do. That much gold, crafted that perfectly, sitting in a custom briefcase...

Her heart dropped into her stomach when she finished calculating. Those three necklaces alone had to be worth at least a million dollars.