The Grand Diamond Ballroom of the Imperial Hotel smelled like expensive champagne and cheap lies.
From the mezzanine balcony shadows, I watched Seraphina, and I watched the highest point of the city's elite social circle. The richest five hundred people in the city wore tuxedos and gowns worth millions of dollars while they enjoyed their drinks under a gigantic chandelier.
The Engagement Party of the Century took place tonight. The Sterling and Thorne families held their major funeral ceremony. The guests had not yet realized what was about to unfold.
The elaborate ballroom had a six-tier wedding cake that reached its highest point and featured gold decorations made of edible material. My ex-wife Chloe Sterling stood in front of the cake. She wore an expensive custom diamond-encrusted gown, which exceeded the cost of a hospital wing, and showed her engagement ring to socialites who envied her appearance. She was smiling, but my Dragon King vision from this height showed me she had covered her dark bags under her eyes with a thick layer of concealer. Her body trembled.
Liam Thorne, her new fiancé, stood right next to her.
Liam looked absolutely pathetic. His normally self-assured expression suffered severe facial bruises, while his jaw was completely immobilized by a metal surgical brace. He was attempting to drink expensive champagne through a basic plastic straw. Whenever guests inquired about his condition, he would mumble something that he could not make out, while Chloe would lie to others that he experienced a "tragic, high-speed sports car accident."
The truth existed only in the minds of Liam and Chloe. The "garbage son-in-law" backhand had caused the billionaire playboy to suffer a broken face.
Richard Sterling, Chloe's father, appeared on stage behind the audience. He wiped his forehead using a silk handkerchief while his gaze remained fixed on the red display of his phone. His family's business empire suffered continuous financial losses of millions per hour. The Thorne Medical Group needed this fake engagement party for their final attempt to acquire funding before their Monday deadline, when banks would freeze their assets.
The hired announcer spoke into the microphone, which transmitted his voice across the grand speakers. The audience should raise their drinks for the celebration of Miss Chloe Sterling and Mr. Liam Thorne, who will become a couple tonight. The marriage will unite the Sterling Group and Apex Medical into the most powerful financial entity this city has ever seen.
The audience responded with soft applause that displayed their desire for material wealth.
I spoke to Seraphina, saying, "It's time."
She stood beside me, radiating an aura of pure, untouchable royalty. The simple black dress with its elegant design created a perfect drape over her curves. The stylists from my Vanguard team spent two hours completing her hair and makeup transformation. She didn't look like an overworked, illegitimate trauma nurse. She looked like the true, undisputed queen of the city.
Seraphina took a deep breath, her emerald eyes locking onto her cruel cousin Liam down below. She looped her arm through mine. "Let's give them their wedding gift."
Liam awkwardly lifted a golden knife to slice the enormous cake, which he shared with Chloe.
BOOM!
The twenty-foot double doors made of solid oak burst open to create an explosion, which disrupted the elegant atmosphere. The heavy wooden slabs crashed down on the shiny marble floor to create a massive cloud of dust and broken wood pieces.
The string quartet stopped playing instantly. Women shrieked, dropping their crystal glasses. Five hundred wealthy elites spun around in pure shock.
I entered the ballroom while dust settled and light blinded me with its brightness.
I was wearing a bespoke, midnight-black suit perfectly tailored to my broad shoulders. The heavy pressure of every step I took created a freezing cold atmosphere in the room.
A wealthy socialite spoke to his companion in a loud whisper about "Who... who is that?"
A CEO gasped while rubbing his eyes because he recognized Kaelen Vance as Chloe's live-in dog. "Since when does he look like a king? And who is the absolute goddess on his arm?
Chloe dropped her cake knife. The silver knife dropped onto the ground with a sound. Her face became completely white while her eyes bulged from her head as she saw something terrifying. She stepped back while pointing at me with a shaking finger. "Y-You! How did you get past the security perimeter?!
Liam dropped his champagne glass. His eyes widened in absolute, pants-wetting terror. He tried to scream for his guards but only produced a silent, pathetic sound because his jaw remained wired shut.
Richard Sterling shouted from the stage while facing the audience. He turned purple from his anger and fear and ordered, "Security! Arrest that piece of trash immediately! Throw him out!
Thirty heavily armed private hotel guards rushed into the ballroom from the side doors, pulling out black steel batons and running directly toward us.
I maintained my walking pace. I didn't raise a finger.
I used Dragon Qi at the lowest intensity. The thirty guards experienced a gravity shockwave that became invisible to them.
THUD!
All thirty men fell to their knees in perfect synchronization while their faces slammed into the marble floor. They remained pinned on the ground because they faced an invisible force that prevented them from breathing. Their bodies would not allow them to move at all.
The entire ballroom erupted into chaotic, terrified screams. The wealthy guests moved back to create a wide path, which allowed me to pass through.
I walked directly toward the center of the room until I reached the front of the gigantic cake. Seraphina stood tall beside me, staring daggers into her terrified cousin.
"Good evening, Chloe," I said, my voice echoing clearly through the silent, terrified room. "I told you I was going to crash your party. And I never break a promise."
Chloe struggled to speak because of her panic as she cried, and her expensive makeup was ruined. Kaelen, what do you want now because we broke all ties with you after your divorce papers were signed?
I came to deliver your engagement gift, I said to her in a smooth voice.
I used my hand to make a finger snapping sound.
The sound of marching soldiers wearing combat boots created a loud noise that originated from the destroyed entrance. Eight of my elite Vanguard commanders marched into the ballroom while they wore black tactical gear and half-dragon masks.
They moved a big, solid black mahogany coffin, which had heavy sterling silver trims across their wide shoulders.
The guests gasped in absolute horror as the Vanguard marched down the center aisle and slammed the heavy coffin down directly at Chloe and Liam's feet. The floor actually shook from the weight of it.
Richard Sterling shrieked You, absolute psycho! You bring a coffin to an engagement party?! Richard Sterling held his chest.
I said coldly to the audience that everyone must wear custom-fit clothing, which I had determined to bury the Thorne and Sterling families at the current event.
The wealthy elite group of investors and bankers, who had arrived at the event, turned to me. You are all here to celebrate the merger of the Sterling Group and Apex Medical. You think Richard Sterling will receive three billion dollars from Liam Thorne to rescue his business.
I took out my broken phone from my pocket and showed it to everyone.
I commanded the room to check their portfolios while I ordered everyone to verify the current state of global markets. The audience should examine Apex Medical at this moment.
The City Bank president in the first row fished out his luminous tablet from his pocket. He scanned the screen and his jaw dropped open. He let out a loud, strangled gasp.
The Bank President shouted Hey! The stock market crashed! Because Apex Medical no longer exists.
The ballroom became filled with complete pandemonium.
The investor shouted What?! while he took out his phone. The investor discovered that Apex had died.
Richard, you lying snake! yelled a powerful billionaire who pointed at Chloe's father. You told us Thorne was a billionaire! You intended to use our investment funds to settle his debts!
Richard cried No! No please! It's a glitch while he struggles to control his body. I have to tell you that Liam is wealthy, I promise you.
Liam mumbled angrily while he waved his hands. Nobody could understand his words because his jaw was wired shut. He looked like a total clown.
I turned my gaze to Chloe, who stared at the black coffin, which made her body shake like a leaf in the wind.
You called me a stray dog, I whispered to her while I stepped closer to her. You said Liam could give you the world. Look at him, Chloe. Look at the pathetic, bankrupt cripple you threw me away for.
Chloe watched as Liam faced a group of furious investors who wanted their money back. She looks back at me, her eyes wide with a horrifying, soul-crushing realization.
Chloe whispered that you were the one who made financial strike and bankruptcy happen while her body fell to the floor beside the coffin.
Chloe expressed her belief that I had kept her family alive, while I showed her my complete lack of mercy.
Seraphina stepped forward, her emerald eyes blazing. She looked down at Liam, who had backed up against the wedding cake in terror.
Liam will never rise again because I will make sure of that, according to Seraphina, who spoke with absolute authority. She turned to the crowd of furious elites. The Thorne Medical Group has been conducting illegal drug trials on city residents, which have resulted in deaths for the past five years. I possess the data drives, which I already submitted to the federal agencies. The police are now outside the hotel.
Liam's eyes rolled back into his head. The sheer terror and stress were too much. He let out a muffled squeal, grabbed his chest, and passed out cold, crashing directly into the massive six-tier wedding cake and pulling the entire gold-frosted monstrosity down onto the floor with him.
Two proud families experienced the greatest possible destruction. The face-slapping was complete. They had lost their entire wealth and their identity while facing federal prison time, which occurred before the entire city.
I turned my back on the pathetic scene, offering my arm to Seraphina. Our work here was done.
A heavy sound of sarcastic clapping, which progressed slowly, began to echo from the VIP balcony above us right when we started walking toward the exit.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The temperature in the room dropped enough to make all the crystal glasses on the tables shatter because of a sudden, terrifying surge of murderous Qi. My own Dragon Qi immediately flared up to protect Seraphina from the overwhelming pressure.
I slowly looked up at the balcony.
The man who had slaughtered my parents to steal the Vanguard had returned after three years. The man who had slaughtered my parents to steal the Vanguard.
The Underground Syndicate was controlled by my uncle. Marcus Vance.
"Bravo, Kaelen," Marcus chuckled, his deep, gravelly voice washing over the terrified crowd like a death sentence. "A beautiful performance. But I am afraid this is where your little revenge tour ends. Because nobody leaves this room alive."