The Glam City Hotel stood like a monument to excess, its glass façade reflecting the neon pulse of the city while warm, golden floodlights bathed the red carpet in a curated glow. Every detail was designed to remind the common passerby of the distance between the pavement and the ballroom. The entry price alone was a year’s salary for most, and the line of luxury vehicles stretching down the block—Bentleys, Ferraris, and custom-tuned Rolls Royces—served as a rolling exhibition of the valley’s true hierarchy.
The clicking of high-heeled shoes and the soft clink of champagne flutes created a symphony of the elite. Serena Vale’s arrival in a metallic-black Porsche Panamera signaled the true start of the evening. As she stepped out, draped in a gown that shimmered like liquid midnight, the cr
