He tightened his grip on the microphone.

“Security!” His voice boomed through the speakers, dripping with manufactured pity. “Please escort my former wife out. Vivienne, I told you to stop harassing us.

Your mental instability is not an excuse to extort me or terrorize my new family. We’re taking full custody of Sophia for her own safety. Go home before I press charges.”

Gasps rippled through the ballroom. People glared at me, whispering about the deranged woman ruining the gala. Sophia whimpered, burying her face deeper into my shoulder.

I didn’t stop walking until I reached the edge of the dais. I looked up at the man I had loved — the man currently trying to orchestrate my imprisonment and steal my child.

“You’re very brave with a microphone, Dominic,” I said, my voice carrying clearly without one. “But you seem to have forgotten who built the foundation you’re standing on.”