Chapter 4
Chapter 4: The Red Carpet Reckoning
At 10:00 a.m., outside the Grand Palace Hotel.
This was supposed to be the day of the Global Business Summit—the event where Andrew had planned to unveil Brenda as his new partner to elite society while publicly announcing his divorce from Mariana.
Instead, the red carpet was swarming with hundreds of paparazzi, news anchors, and broadcast cameras. They weren't waiting for Andrew. They were waiting for the newly arrived representative of Escalante Global.
A matte-black Rolls-Royce Phantom glided to a stop at the entrance.
A security detail in dark suits instantly formed a perimeter. The rear door swung open, and a pair of platinum high heels stepped onto the red carpet.
Mariana emerged. She wore a tailored snow-white power suit, her dark hair swept up in an elegant chignon. Her presence radiated unshakeable authority. Around her neck gleamed the world's most valuable royal emerald necklace—the genuine artifact, making Margaret's missing heirloom look like a cheap plastic imitation.
Suddenly, a disheveled, frantic man broke past the security barricade.
It was Andrew. Trailing right behind him was a hysterical Margaret and a weeping Brenda.
"Mariana! Mariana! Please!" Andrew threw himself onto his knees right on the red carpet, in full view of live national television broadcasts. "I was wrong! I was blind! I was manipulated by this woman!" He turned, pointing a trembling, furious finger at Brenda.
Brenda screamed back instantly, "You liar! You were the one who told me to stage the stolen necklace so you could throw her out!"
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Margaret stumbled forward, her previous arrogance replaced by desperate begging. "Mariana... my sweet daughter-in-law... I know you are a good person... Please, save our family..."
Mariana paused. She slowly turned her head, looking down at the three people kneeling in the dust like insignificant insects.
