WHO IS MALIK HAMPTON?

The Turning Point

"Stop, enough of your stupidity!"

Sarah’s voice cracked like thunder through the suffocating silence. Her words were sharp, slicing through Malik’s composure. For a moment, the hall stood in limbo, air taut with judgment, disdain and concealed hunger for a fall.

Malik looked at her with a surprise flickering across his face. Of all people, she was the one he hadn’t expected to fold. He had known humiliation, endured mockery. But Sara's rejection cut deeper than them all.

He moved toward her quietly, each step he made forward was full of unseen weight.

 Leaning close, he whispered, barely audible beneath the din of murmurs, "Please... just this once. Trust me."

Sarah flinched, her expression torn. She looked into Malik’s eyes and saw the pain swimming beneath the calm, the storm he’d kept bottled for so long.

 She wanted to scream, to vanish, to escape this war of alliances and illusions. But before she could respond, Oliver stepped forward, voice dripping with poison masked as civility.

"Maybe we should give this little act a chance, let’s see if Malik's gift could at least be worth a hundred dollars. It might surprise us." He said, his tone condescending.

He smiled, but there was venom behind his teeth. It wasn’t concern; it was mockery, a calculated ploy to further her downfall while masking his own. The weight of his failure was beginning to press on him, and dragging her down was the only consolation he had left.

Around Sarah, her hands moved subtly. Janet gestured at her with a warning glare. Evelyn followed, her tight lipped expression screamed nothing disapproval. John and David mirrored them and the unspoken message was clear: Don’t embarrass us further.

But then, Michael.

His gaze lingered on Malik with quiet calculation. He didn’t flinch. No disdain. No mockery. Just something... reserved and almost approving. Sarah caught the nuance and her breath hitched.

Did he know?

Has this all been his plan?

The million-dollar suit that Malik wears, he couldn't have avoided it. Malik couldn't have avoided buying gift too. Could he be the man standing in defiance as he offers to be?

For a fleeting moment, Sarah saw everything in a different light.

And she nodded.

Malik stepped forward, addressing the room with an even voice. 

"I apologize for any disruption. My lateness tonight was due to running an errand for Sarah. Retrieving this gift... was my sole purpose. The earlier one she presented was my mistake—I failed. I mistook imitation for authenticity, and that’s my fault." Malik said sorrowfully.

There was a pause as the black velvet case was presented again.

"But tonight, I make no mistakes."

He opened the case.

Gasps were muffled. Then came confusion.

Artifacts. Scrolls written in an ancient tongue. Coins that shimmered under the ballroom's lights. A sealed bottle of liquor adorned with forgotten emblems and a lock made of pure obsidian. Each item looked... old. Not antique-store-old. Timeless. Untouched by centuries.

Paul Roy stepped forward. His brow furrowed.

"This... looks dull and boring, what is this rubbish, Malik? Trinkets from a dusty street vendor?" He spat, waving his hand with irritation

The room erupted in laughter.

Janet seized the moment. "Perhaps Sarah should have just gifted him a broom. Would've made more sense."

David grinned and muttered something into Evelyn’s ear. She laughed.

Mockery flooded in like high tide.

Elisabeth DeWitt leaned toward Arnold, the old senator. "This is exactly why he’s not fit for her. She had class. And now..."

Sarah stood frozen. Her heart thumped like a war drum as all the comments settled around her. The spotlight was on her again, but this time not just of judgment and of humiliation. Malik had promised this would help her, but instead, the whispers had become a roar.

Her voice trembled as she looked at Paul. "He brought this on his own. I never asked for any of it." Sarah finally declared, tired of all the embarrassment.

Malik turned, visibly stricken. "Sarah... please..."

She backed away, shaking her head. "You said this would fix things. It’s only made it worse."

The mockery intensified. The elite circled like vultures around fresh failure.

But before Malik could say more, a voice called from the crowd.

"Wait."

Everything halted.

An older gentleman, dressed in a dark green suit and wearing thick gold-rimmed spectacles, pushed through the crowd. His hands trembled slightly, but his voice was firm.

"Let me see that scroll."

Malik stepped aside, allowing him access. The man removed a pair of gloves from his coat, his eyes wide as he gently lifted the scroll.

His hands shook as he unrolled it.

"This... this is the lost scroll of Raelimund. The treaty between the Phoenix Tribes and the Dragon Courts of old. This hasn’t been seen since the fall of Eldareth."

Silence.

"There is only one of these in existence. It was believed burned in the Ember Wars. This... this isn’t just worth millions."

He looked around.

"This is worth billions."

A stunned hush fell over the room.

The man turned toward the bottle, inspecting the emblem. He took a slow breath.

"And this... a bottle sealed by the House of Caelric. They used soul-inked wax. Only five ever made. All but one destroyed during the Severing."

He turned slowly to face the crowd, his voice reverent.

"Ladies and gentlemen. This is not a gift. This is history. A legacy."

Gasps filled the air.

Sarah could barely breathe.

Oliver stumbled backward, eyes wide with disbelief. Janet’s face was drained of color. Evelyn looked like she might collapse.

Paul Roy stared in shocked silence.

Only Michael remained composed with a small, knowing smile curving at the edge of his lips.

Malik turned to Sarah once more. His voice was low but measured.

"I never came to embarrass you. I came to honor you. And everything I’ve ever done... was for you."

Just as Malik thought she was making an upper hand, Janet's voice cut through like a razor blade and she said with a mockery tone. 

“Enough you'll don't be fooled by this useless man Sarah fell pity on and brought to our family. Don't be fooled everyone! How could a cleaner present a gift that is worth a billion even for Roy enterprises and everyone's here doesn't worth that much!” 

The room turned into a loud mocking tone and an argument that Janet was right, Malik could have brought a fake gift and the man earlier was old enough to differentiate between original and fake.

Oliver seized the chance… All he wanted was Malik's downfall with him. 

“This man is just a traitor! He's nothing but a scam… how could he avoid that” Oliver said.

The room filled with noise or arguments again.

“Enough!... That's enough!” Janet's voice cut in