Tell the World, The Hidden Magnate is Back

CH 10

Lily hesitated at the hotel entrance, keys heavy in her palm. Should she go back to the penthouse? Start this strange new chapter of her life?

Before she could decide, Ethan's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, and something shifted in his expression—subtle, but there. He gestured toward his car.

"Get in."

"What? Why—"

"Please."

The word wasn't a command. It was a request that somehow felt more binding than any order could be.

She got in.

The city blurred past as they drove in silence. When the car finally stopped, she looked up and felt her stomach drop.

"The Nasdaq celebration banquet?" Her voice came out smaller than she intended. "Ethan, I can't just walk into—"

"You can." He opened her door, waiting. "Come on."

The entrance gleamed under spotlights, red carpet stretching toward massive doors. Lily felt every borrowed thread of her dress like a lie written on her skin as they walked toward the wealth and success she'd been exiled from six months ago.

Ethan's hand found the small of her back, steadying her as they walked toward the chaos of wealth and success she'd been exiled from six months ago.

That's when she saw her.

Vivian Cross stood at the center of admirers, radiant in a black gown that caught light like liquid midnight. Diamonds glittered at her throat as she laughed, utterly luminous in her victory.

Someone said something that made Vivian's gaze shift and land on them like a spotlight. On Ethan, then on Lily. Her smile didn't falter. If anything, it sharpened into something that could cut.

The crowd parted as Vivian moved toward them with Ryan Fitzgerald trailing behind her like an expensive accessory, champagne in hand and ownership written across his posture. Whispers rippled outward from their approach like stones dropped in still water.

"Well." Vivian's voice carried across marble and made heads turn. "This is unexpected."

More eyes swiveled to assess them. Lily felt their judgment like hands on her skin, cataloging every inadequacy.

"Isn't that the woman from Velmoré group?"

"Went bankrupt last month, didn't she?"

"What's she doing here?"

The murmurs multiplied and spread like infection through the crowd.

Vivian tapped her champagne glass once. The crystal ring cut through the noise and silenced two hundred conversations mid-sentence.

"Everyone, give me a moment." Her smile was all performance now, bright and sharp. "I have some private matters to discuss with my ex-husband."

The crowd widened around them, creating a spotlight of empty space that felt more like an arena than courtesy.

Ryan moved closer to Vivian, his arm sliding around her waist in a gesture of possession. "Should I give you two some privacy, or—"

"Don't be silly." Vivian linked her fingers through his and said it loud enough for everyone within twenty feet to hear. "You're practically family now. Stay."

Ethan's expression remained perfectly neutral. "If you have something to say, Vivian, say it quickly. I have places to be."

"Oh, I'm sure you do." Her laugh was light and mocking. "I just wanted to clarify something about the divorce. There's still some junk at the house—your things, I assume. What do you want me to do with them?"

"Keep them. Donate them. Burn them. I don't care."

Vivian's eyebrows arched in exaggerated surprise. "How generous. Though I suppose when you're as poor as you are, you can't afford to be picky." She turned slightly toward the watching crowd, performing now. "After all, they're brand-name items. You could sell a piece or two and keep yourself fed for a few months at least."

Laughter rippled through their audience like a wave.

Ryan stepped forward with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Careful there, Ethan. Your pride's showing, and it's not worth much these days." He took a slow sip of champagne. "Maybe focus on whether you can even afford dinner tonight."

The laughter grew louder, meaner.

Vivian beamed at Ryan like he'd just recited poetry. "See, Ethan? This is what real concern looks like. Ryan actually cares about your wellbeing." She turned back to Ethan, and her voice dropped several degrees. "If you're smart, you'll take those things while I'm still in a good mood. Otherwise, when my mood changes, you won't even have a place to cry."

She and Ryan laughed together, and the crowd joined in like this was the finest entertainment they'd seen all week.

Something inside Lily snapped.

She'd stayed quiet through the hotel confrontation with Diane. Through every humiliation this man had endured in the past two days. Through her own shame and poverty and failure.

No more.

"That's enough." Her voice cut through the laughter like a blade.

Vivian's smile froze mid-laugh. "Excuse me?"

"I said that's enough." Lily stepped forward, and her hands were shaking but her voice wasn't. "Who settles a divorce by offering someone their own belongings back? If you actually wanted to compensate him properly, you'd give him money. But you can't even spare a few hundred thousand, can you? So instead you dress up your cheapness as generosity and hope nobody notices the difference."

The silence that followed felt like pressure building before an explosion.

Vivian's face cycled through shock, then fury, then something uglier than both. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Her voice went shrill enough to echo. "You're nobody—a bankrupt failure who lost everything because you couldn't even manage your own company properly. And you're lecturing me?"

"I'm someone who knows the difference between generosity and cruelty."

"You—" Vivian jabbed a finger toward Lily like a weapon. "Your company collapsed because you're incompetent. You lost everything because the universe saw through your pathetic charade. And now you're here doing what, exactly?Mooching food and drinks off my ex-husband?" She laughed, and it sounded like breaking glass. "How absolutely pathetic."

She snapped her fingers, and security guards materialized from the edges of the crowd like sharks drawn to blood in the water.

"Check their passes." Vivian's smile returned, vicious and triumphant. "I want to know who let these two crashers into my celebration."