Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Haylee shrieked, a piercing sound that sliced through the stunned silence in the ballroom. "Oh my goodness! What is going on?" she wailed, clutching her chest with wide, innocent eyes. She lunged towards the AV console, as if to fix the "mistake," but her fumbling fingers only made it worse. The screen, instead of returning to Collin' s corporate presentation, flickered to another, even more intimate video of me.

The crowd erupted in a cacophony of gasps, whispers, and outright laughter. Faces I recognized from countless industry events, people I' d worked with, respected, or even considered friends, now stared at me with a mixture of shock, pity, and thinly veiled contempt. Each snicker, each judgmental glance, felt like a physical blow. The air in the room grew thick, suffocating me.

My eyes, wide with horror, darted to Collin. He stood frozen, his face a mask of disbelief, then fury. Not fury at Haylee, not fury at the humiliation I was enduring, but fury that his grand announcement had been sabotaged. His eyes met mine, and in that fleeting moment, I saw it-the sick, undeniable truth. He knew. He had recorded those videos. The man I loved, the man I had given everything to, had secretly documented my most vulnerable moments, weaponizing them against me. The pain was so sharp, so absolute, it stole my breath.

Collin, regaining his composure, stormed towards the technicians, his voice a low, dangerous growl that silenced the room. "Find out who did this. And if a single frame of this leaves this room, I will personally ruin every one of your careers. You will never work in this industry again." He was protecting his reputation, not mine.

Haylee, meanwhile, continued her pathetic Oscar-winning performance, sobbing dramatically into her hands. "Oh, Collin, I'm so sorry! I just wanted to show everyone that cute video of Princess Fluffy-butt! I didn't know these other horrible things were on my tablet!" She dissolved into a fresh wave of tears, her body shaking.

Collin, ever the "protector," immediately abandoned the technicians and swept Haylee into his arms, stroking her hair, whispering reassurances. "It's okay, baby. It's not your fault. I know you didn't mean it." He completely ignored me, standing there, exposed and humiliated, in the blinding glare of the spotlight.

The ghost of a memory flashed through my mind: a rainy night, years ago, when a rival company threatened to leak some of my early code. Collin had been a whirlwind of fierce protection, shielding me from the media, his arm tight around my waist. "No one touches my Kira," he' d growled, his eyes blazing with possessive fury. That Collin was dead. Replaced by this hollow shell of a man, cradling the very serpent who had poisoned my life.

A choking sob escaped my lips, but it was swallowed by the burning acid in my throat. My heart felt hollowed out, a raw, bleeding wound. There was no more love, no more hope, only a searing, icy hatred. With a desperate surge of adrenaline, I pushed past the stunned attendees, my injured legs screaming in protest. I snatched the tablet from the bewildered technician, my fingers flying across the screen, shutting down the projection. The light died, plunging the ballroom into a blessed, albeit temporary, darkness.

I looked at Collin, still cradling Haylee. My gaze was a cold, hard stone. He looked up, his eyes meeting mine, a flicker of something-regret? guilt?-crossing his face. But it was too late. All the words had been said, all the trust irrevocably shattered. I turned and limped away, leaving the wreckage of my dignity and my shattered life behind.

Collin' s voice, a desperate, strangled whisper, called my name. "Kira! Wait!" But I didn't stop. What was there left to say? He tried to follow, but his feet seemed rooted to the spot, his mouth opening and closing uselessly. He looked utterly lost, a man suddenly stripped of his carefully constructed facade. A chill, a deep, unsettling cold, seeped into his bones as he watched me disappear, a silent testament to the void he had created.

I pushed open the swinging door to the backstage area, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The silence here was a stark contrast to the chaos inside. Just as I thought I was safe, a hand clamped down on the back of my wheelchair, stopping me dead. Haylee. Her face, no longer tear-stained, was etched with a triumphant, malicious grin.

"Kira-boo," she purred, her voice dripping with venom, "Where are you going? I'll help you up the stairs."

My stomach churned. "Don't touch me," I spat, my voice laced with disgust. "Get away from me, you vile creature."

She ignored me, her grip tightening. "Oh, but Collin told me to take care of you! He said you were so sad about losing the baby. You know, he only gave you those shares because he felt guilty. He thinks you're pathetic without him. He just needed a way to control you, to keep you quiet." Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, so close I could feel her breath on my ear. "And those videos? He showed them to me weeks ago. He said they proved how desperate you were for his attention. He said you were so easy to manipulate."

The words hit me like a barrage of physical blows. Control. Desperate. Manipulate. My heart, already a gaping wound, ripped further open. He had done all of this. My mother, my child, my dignity. All sacrificed on the altar of his inflated ego and Haylee's twisted desires. My vision blurred. A cold, hard laugh escaped my lips. "You know, Haylee," I said, my voice surprisingly steady, "you're even more pathetic than you think I am. You're just a tool, a means to an end for him. He's using you just like he used me. You think he loves you? He loves what you make him feel. You're interchangeable."

Her eyes narrowed, the childish mask finally dropping. Pure, unadulterated hatred blazed in their depths. "You think so, huh? Well, you won't be around to see it." With a sudden, savage shove, she released the brakes on my wheelchair and pushed me forward. I cried out as the chair tipped, sending me tumbling down the short flight of stairs leading to the loading dock below. The impact was agonizing, my already broken body screaming in protest. I heard a sickening crack, then another, as my head slammed against the concrete.

"Oh, no! " Haylee shrieked, her voice perfectly pitched to sound horrified. "Kira! Why did you do that? Help! Someone help! Kira fell down the stairs!"

My vision swam. I heard footsteps, the shouts of men, Collin's frantic voice calling my name. But it was too late. The darkness engulfed me once more, a cold, comforting embrace.