They dragged him down the center aisle.

The same aisle he’d expected to walk down to thunderous applause.

Camera flashes strobed like lightning, blinding him.

The guests—his former allies and sycophants—stepped aside, actively turning their backs to avoid being photographed near him.

Not a single person reached out to offer him aid.

I stood in my white slip, watching the doors close behind him, Adrian’s final threat hanging in the air like smoke.