CHAPTER 2: THE SONG THAT DESTROYED AN EMPIRE
Chloe climbed onto the piano bench.
The room watched in amused silence.
Then she began.
The first notes drifted softly through the ballroom.
A few guests smirked.
Then the music exploded.
Her fingers moved across the keys with impossible precision.
Fast.
Flawless.
Beautiful.
The entire room fell silent.
Nobody laughed anymore.
Nobody whispered.
Even Victor Blackwood leaned forward.
The composition was considered nearly impossible.
Yet the nine-year-old girl performed it as if she had written it herself.
When the final note faded away, the ballroom erupted into applause.
But Chloe didn't bow.
She stood.
Turned toward Victor.
And calmly said:
“You promised one hundred million dollars.”
Victor nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“I don't want the money.”
The applause stopped immediately.
“I want the truth.”
Victor's face changed.
The room noticed.
“Tell them about my father.”
Silence.
“And tell them why you've been paying my mother to stay quiet for five years.”
The billionaire went pale.
“Get her out of here,” he snapped.
But Chloe reached into her dress and pulled out a folded legal document.
A document bearing Victor Blackwood's signature.
“You stole my father's music.”
The ballroom exploded into whispers.
“You framed him.”
More voices.
More phones.
More cameras.
Nora finally stepped forward.
Tears streamed down her face.
“Victor destroyed Elias's life.”
Every eye in the room turned toward her.
“He framed him for embezzlement.”
Victor backed away.
The journalists were already typing.
Stock prices were already falling.
The billionaire's empire was beginning to collapse in real time.
Then Victor lost control.
“I'll kill you for this!” he screamed.
The ballroom doors burst open.
Police officers flooded inside.
And this time, nobody was laughing.
May you like
Because they weren't there for Chloe.
They were there for Victor Blackwood.
