Chapter 29 - THE COLLAPSE OF THE HOUSE OF MILLER
Chaos erupted instantly across the ballroom. Elite investors began shouting in outrage, slamming their wine glasses down onto tables and marching toward the exit doors in absolute disgust. The bank president who had been laughing with Vance just minutes earlier glared at him with venomous hatred, ripping his corporate sponsorship badge off his lapel and tossing it onto the floor. Vance stood paralyzed at the podium, clutching the edges of the wooden stand so hard his knuckles turned ghostly white, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air as the devastating truth of his ruin settled over him. I walked slowly down the center aisle of the ballroom, my footsteps echoing rhythmically against the marble floor, cutting through the murmurs and shouts of the fleeing crowd. I stopped twenty feet from the stage, sliding my hands into my jacket pockets, and stared directly up at my disgraced brother. Vance’s eyes darted through the crowd until they finally locked onto mine, burning with a mixture of raw terror, humiliation, and murderous rage. "You..." Vance choked out, his voice trembling uncontrollably as the microphone picked up every strained syllable. "You did this! You ruined everything!" I smiled coldly, my voice ringing out clear and steady across the silent hall. "I didn't ruin anything, Vance," I replied softly, loud enough for the front rows to hear. "I just finally told the truth." I turned on my heel, walking away from the stage and out the grand double doors of the ballroom into the cool night air, leaving the wreckage of the Miller family empire smoldering behind me.
