Chapter 35
912 Words
The Walker Foundation Gala glittered beneath crystal chandeliers.
Champagne flowed.
A string quartet played softly from the balcony.
Politicians, CEOs, and socialites drifted through the ballroom dressed in designer gowns and tailored tuxedos, smiling for cameras that never stopped flashing.
To everyone else, it looked like another glamorous New York charity event.
Nathan saw something entirely different.
Exits.
Sightlines.
Security cameras.
Every unfamiliar face.
His hand rested lightly against Ava's lower back as they moved through the crowd.
"You've scanned the room three times," she whispered.
"Five."
She smiled.
"I was trying to make you sound less paranoid."
"I'm not paranoid."
"No?"
He leaned closer.
"I'm… imjust prepared."
---
Across the ballroom, Richard Walker addressed a circle of board members.
The conversation stopped as Nathan approached.
Richard's expression remained unreadable.
"You came."
Nathan glanced toward Ava.
"She wanted to."
Ava extended her hand with quiet confidence.
"Good evening."
One by one, the board members shook it.
Instead of scandal, they found composure.
Instead of embarrassment, they found dignity.
Richard noticed.
So did Ethan.
Standing near the bar, Ethan watched the room shift around Ava.
People weren't avoiding her anymore.
They were introducing themselves.
Asking about her paintings.
Complimenting her resilience after the gallery incident.
His phone vibrated.
An unknown number:
‘Smile while you can’
He looked around sharply.
No one seemed out of place, everyone was busy laughing and mingling.
---
An hour later, Marco approached Nathan.
"We have a problem."
Nathan excused himself from the conversation.
"What is it?"
"Our cyber team intercepted unusual traffic."
Nathan frowned.
"Explain."
"Someone hacked into the hospital's visitor database."
"The children's hospital?"
Marco nodded.
"The one the foundation funds."
Nathan's expression hardened.
"They're looking for patients?"
"No."
Marco swallowed.
"They're looking for donors."
Nathan understood immediately.
The gala wasn't just raising money.
It had gathered the city's wealthiest and most influential families in one place.
Rossi wasn't targeting money.
He was mapping relationships.
---
Meanwhile...
Ava wandered into the gallery wing attached to the ballroom.
The foundation displayed artwork donated for auction.
She stopped in front of a watercolor landscape.
"It's beautiful."
"It reminds me of Tuscany."
She turned.
An elegant woman in her sixties smiled warmly.
"I've admired your work for years."
Ava blinked.
"You know my paintings?"
"I own two."
The woman extended her hand.
"My granddaughter wanted to become an artist because of you."
Emotion caught in Ava's throat.
For weeks she'd believed Erica had destroyed everything she'd worked for.
Perhaps she hadn't.
"You've inspired more people than you know," the woman said.
As they spoke, neither noticed a young waiter quietly setting a fresh glass of champagne on the nearby table.
He adjusted the tray.
Looked once toward the ballroom.
Then walked away.
---
Marco's voice crackled through Nathan's earpiece.
"Status check."
Nathan pressed the hidden microphone.
"Clear."
Another voice interrupted.
"South entrance secure."
Then...
Silence.
One channel went dead.
Nathan stopped walking.
"Unit Four, report."
Nothing.
"Unit Four."
Still nothing.
His pulse quickened.
"Marco."
"I heard it."
Nathan was already moving.
Fast.
Purposefully.
His eyes searched for Ava.
She wasn't where he'd left her.
---
She had just thanked the older woman when a familiar voice called her name.
"Ava."
She turned.
"Ethan?"
He looked pale.
"We need to leave."
"What?"
"Right now."
Confusion crossed her face.
"What happened?"
"I don't know yet."
He lowered his voice.
"But someone just texted me your location inside this building."
The blood drained from her face.
"What?"
"I think we're being watched."
Before Ava could answer, every light in the ballroom went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Gasps echoed through the building.
Someone screamed.
The emergency generators failed to activate.
Nathan's voice thundered through the darkness.
"Ava!"
"I'm here!"
She reached toward the sound.
Strong hands grabbed her wrist.
She exhaled in relief.
"Nathan."
"No."
The voice was calm.
Unfamiliar.
"You've got the wrong man."
A gloved hand covered her mouth.
---
Exactly seven seconds.
That was how long the blackout lasted.
When the lights returned...
Nathan stood in the middle of the ballroom.
His chest heaving.
Guests stared in confusion.
A champagne glass shattered at his feet.
"Ava."
No answer.
His eyes swept the room.
She was gone.
Marco sprinted toward him.
"Every exit is locked."
Nathan grabbed him by the jacket.
"Find her."
"We're already.."
"I SAID FIND HER!"
The ballroom fell silent.
Richard pushed through the crowd.
"What happened?"
Nathan looked at his father with eyes colder than winter.
"They took her."
"No."
Nathan pointed toward the gallery wing.
"They took my wife."
Richard froze.
For the first time, the title wasn't about marriage.
It was about identity.
About loyalty.
About the woman Nathan had already chosen, regardless of what anyone else thought.
---
Outside, rain began falling again.
A black cargo van slipped into Manhattan traffic.
Inside, Ava slowly opened her eyes.
Her wrists weren't tied.
No one had struck her.
Across from her sat a man in a charcoal suit reading a newspaper.
He looked up and smiled politely.
"Good evening, Miss Carter."
She stared at him.
"Who are you?"
He folded the newspaper with deliberate care.
"My name is Lorenzo Rossi."
He offered his hand as though they were meeting over dinner instead of in the back of a moving van.
"I've wanted to meet the woman who made Nathan Walker forget how to be afraid."
The van disappeared into the rain.
And for the first time in his life...
Nathan Walker was too late.
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