Chapter 10 - The Untouchable Queen
The Grand Ballroom of the Drake Hotel was packed with the elite of Chicago society.
Billionaires, politicians, and celebrities mingled under the massive crystal chandeliers.
Outside, the paparazzi flashed their cameras furiously as black cars pulled up to the red carpet.
Across the street, standing in the cold November air, a man in a cheap, worn-out coat stood watching the entrance.
It was Ethan.
He looked older, tired, and deeply miserable.
He had walked all the way here from the bus station just to catch a glimpse of the life he had thrown away.
A sleek silver Maybach pulled up to the curb.
The crowd went wild as the door opened.
Claire stepped out.
She was wearing a breathtaking, custom-made emerald green gown that shimmered under the camera flashes.
Diamonds sparkled at her throat and on her ears.
She looked powerful, ethereal, and completely untouchable.
The reporters shouted her name, begging for a quote.
"Ms. Whitmore! Ms. Whitmore!"
"How does it feel to be the most powerful woman in real estate?"
Claire paused on the red carpet and turned to the cameras with a radiant, confident smile.
"It feels like I finally remembered my worth," she answered clearly.
From across the street, Ethan felt a physical pain in his chest, sharper than any knife.
He watched as the most beautiful woman in the world—his former wife—walked up the stairs and into a world he could never enter again.
She didn't even glance in his direction.
She didn't need to.
Claire stepped into the warm, glowing light of the ballroom, surrounded by respect and admiration.
She took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and clinked it against Daniel Mercer's glass.
"To the future," Daniel toasted.
Claire looked around the room, feeling the absolute freedom of a woman who had saved herself.
"To the future," she agreed.
May you like
She took a sip, leaving the ghosts of her past exactly where they belonged.
Behind her, buried in the dark, and forgotten forever.
