Chapter 1: The Glass Palace
Chapter 1: The Glass Palace
A palace of glass, gold, and ruthless power.
Inside the historic Hartwell Grand Ballroom, billion-dollar deals unfolded beneath crystal chandeliers that hung like frozen tears from the vaulted ceilings. Tonight was the apex of the global fashion week, a masquerade of the elite where fortunes were made and destroyed with a single whisper. The air was thick with the scent of expensive perfume, aged champagne, and unspoken venom. Outside, a relentless storm of camera flashes illuminated the rain-slicked pavement, but no flash burned brighter, or harsher, than Regina Blake’s cruelty.
Regina, the undisputed queen of the Blake Empire, stood at the center of the room. She was clad in a razor-sharp obsidian tuxedo that seemed to absorb the light around her. Her posture was perfectly rigid, her eyes the color of winter ice. To her, this ballroom wasn't a party; it was a battlefield. Every smile was a calculated maneuver, every air-kiss a strategic alliance. She had clawed her way to the top of the industry, leaving a trail of shattered careers in her wake. Tonight was supposed to be her coronation, the night she announced the acquisition of her largest rival. But fate, and a single loose thread, had other plans.
