Chapter 7 - The Final Gala
The ballroom was draped in gold silk and dripping with crystal chandeliers.
Hundreds of elite guests clapped as Richard Harrington tapped the microphone.
Elara froze in the center of the room with her tray of champagne.
She looked up at the audio-visual booth and saw Victoria staring down in sheer panic.
Victoria patted her elegant gown and realized her pocket was completely empty.
Richard smiled widely at the crowd of wealthy investors.
He announced that he had recently uncovered a massive corporate espionage plot.
He held up the encrypted hard drive for all the cameras to see.
He claimed it contained malicious software meant to destroy their financial markets.
Richard declared that the traitor was someone living inside his very own home.
His cold eyes scanned the room and locked directly onto Elara.
Elara realized that Richard had pickpocketed Victoria in the hallway before the speech.
He had known about their alliance the entire time.
Two large security guards in black suits began walking toward Elara from the back doors.
She had nowhere to run in the crowded brightly lit ballroom.
Victoria suddenly grabbed the microphone in the audio-visual booth.
Her voice echoed through the massive speakers over the murmuring crowd.
Victoria shouted that Richard was lying to everyone in the room.
She declared that the drive held proof of his insurance fraud and attempted murder.
The guests gasped and began whispering nervously among themselves.
Richard maintained his composed smile and called his fake daughter entirely delusional.
He signaled for his men to cut the power to the booth.
The microphone screeched and went dead.
The guards grabbed Elara by the arms and dragged her toward the stage.
Richard ordered his men to take the traitorous maid to the basement.
Elara struggled wildly and managed to kick a guard in the knee.
She broke free and sprinted toward the main stage.
She tackled Richard hard and the hard drive flew out of his hand.
It skittered across the polished marble floor toward the crowd.
Elara scrambled desperately toward the silver device.
A heavy boot slammed down onto her hand pinning it to the floor.
May you like
She looked up in pain to see the chief of police standing over her.
The officer picked up the hard drive and handed it respectfully back to Richard.
