Chapter 8 The Trap

The charity gala shimmered with chandeliers, crystal décor, and an ocean of wealthy patrons dressed in sparkling gowns and tailored suits. Soft music floated through the hall while the city's elite mingled, exchanged pleasantries, and paraded their power.

Elena entered the room with her chin raised, her posture graceful and steady. Every step she took reminded her that she was no longer the helpless woman who once drowned in betrayal. She had been reborn, sharpened, and stripped of illusions.

Richard watched her arrival from across the hall. His eyes narrowed with a simmering hostility that he could barely contain behind his polished smile. Sophia hovered close to his side, pretending innocence, yet her stare followed Elena like a dagger prepared to strike. They had spent days plotting an elaborate humiliation, whispering to the press and stirring suspicion behind Elena's back. Richard believed tonight would end with her crushed beneath the weight of public disgrace.

But Elena was no longer walking into traps blindly. Damien had already warned her. His voice from their earlier meeting replayed in her memory with startling clarity. He had told her who Richard contacted, what lies he fed the reporters, and how he planned to push her into a corner. Elena had listened carefully, her heart steady and her thoughts sharp. She had nodded once, silent but determined. Tonight, she would not only survive. She would win.

As she glided deeper into the hall, cameras flashed, and murmurs began to rise. A pair of reporters stepped toward her with overly eager smiles. Richard had sent them, of course. Elena recognized them immediately from Damien's information. They launched their questions with venom hidden in their polite tone.

"Miss Carter, we heard you misappropriated funds from a charity event last year. Would you like to explain the rumors?"

"Sources say you interfered with the planning committee tonight in order to secure more attention for yourself. Are you attempting to rebrand your image?"

Gasps and curious whispers rippled through the nearby crowd. Richard stopped pretending to mingle and turned to watch. His expression showed smug anticipation, certain she would falter. Sophia stood by him with tight lips and gleaming eyes, already imagining Elena's downfall.

But Elena did not flinch. Instead, she smiled, a calm and poised expression that silenced half the room. She faced the reporters with an elegance that stole the moment from them.

"I am always happy to clear up misinformation," she said smoothly. "The rumors you are referring to come from a single anonymous source who also happens to have been removed from a previous charity committee for irresponsible spending. Perhaps you should ask him why he is so eager to shift blame."

The reporters blinked rapidly, thrown off balance.

"As for tonight," Elena continued, "I was invited as a guest, not a planner. If anyone here needs attention, it seems to be the people who created such desperate stories simply to cause a scene."

The murmurs changed direction entirely. Guests exchanged glances, whispering about Richard instead. Who would have fed the press such shallow lies? Why target Elena so publicly? Suspicion drifted toward him like a slow-moving storm.

Sophia stiffened. Richard's face darkened with barely controlled rage.

Elena's smile remained steady. She turned toward the crowd and lifted her glass slightly. "Let us focus on what matters tonight. The purpose of this gala is to support children in need. That should be the only story anyone cares about."

Several guests nodded. Others clapped softly. Elena had taken control of the narrative with one elegant sweep, and the room shifted in her favor.

Richard stepped forward the moment she turned away. His jaw tightened so sharply it looked painful. "You think you won," he hissed under his breath.

She faced him calmly. "I think the truth won."

His hand twitched, as if he wanted to grab her arm and drag her aside. Sophia watched breathlessly, hoping for a confrontation. For the first time, Richard dropped the mask entirely. His eyes showed a violent fury he could not contain.

"You will regret this," he snapped. "You think Blackwood can protect you? You have no idea who you are dealing with."

Elena did not respond. She simply stepped back, refusing to give him the emotional reaction he wanted.

Richard lunged.

But he never reached her.

A firm hand grasped Elena's arm and pulled her backward just as Damien stepped between them. His expression was cold and unreadable, but there was an unmistakable warning in his eyes.

"Your mistake," Damien said quietly to Richard, "is assuming she stands alone."

Before Richard could respond, Damien guided Elena toward the exit. Guests watched in stunned silence as the powerful billionaire escorted her through the doors and into his waiting car. The door shut, sealing her away from the chaos she had just conquered.

Richard's furious shout echoed behind them, but it no longer mattered.

Elena had stepped out of the trap untouched, and Damien had arrived just in time to pull her into an entirely new battlefield.