Because whoever that person was—
They controlled everything.
Funding.
Expansion.
His future.
“Stay close,” Julian whispered to Isabella, straightening his jacket as flashes from cameras lit up the entrance.
“If I get this right, we’re untouchable.”
The double doors opened.
Silence spread through the ballroom like a ripple.
Security stepped aside.
Staff lowered their heads.
Even the musicians stopped.
And then—
She walked in.
Not rushed.
Not dramatic.
Precise.
Controlled.
Unmistakable.
Elara.
But not the Elara he thought he knew.
Her hair was styled flawlessly.
Her dress—custom couture—flowed like liquid gold under the lights.
Every step she took commanded the room without effort.
The woman he had called “too simple”…
Now owned the air he was breathing.
Julian stopped walking.
His grip tightened on Isabella’s arm.
“That’s…” Isabella whispered.
“Yes,” Julian said.
But his voice lacked certainty.
Because this didn’t make sense.
It couldn’t.
Elara didn’t belong here.
Not like this.
Not as that.
The announcer’s voice cut through the silence again:
“Chairwoman Elara Voss, founder and principal investor of Aurora Group.”
The name hit like a gunshot.
Voss.
Not Thorn.
Never Thorn.
Julian’s world tilted.
Because he knew that name.
Everyone did.
Aurora Group was the invisible force behind half the companies in that room.
Including his.
He stepped forward.
Forcing a smile.
Trying to recover.
“Elara—” he began.
She didn’t look at him.
Didn’t even slow down.
She walked past him.
As if he were a stranger.
As if he were irrelevant.
The cameras turned.
The crowd shifted.
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