She reached the alcove in seconds, her face flushed, the veins in her neck standing out against her diamond choker.

“You!” she shrieked, the sound tearing through the hushed room. “I told Dad to pay off security to keep the trash out!”

The guests gasped. The cellist dragged a discordant note across his strings.

“I’m leaving, Chloe,” I said quietly, raising my right hand in a placating gesture, keeping my left arm pinned to my side. “I didn’t come to cause a scene.”

“Liar!” Her voice cracked. “You came to humiliate me! You knew the Sterlings would be here! You wanted to show up looking like a homeless junkie to embarrass me in front of my new family!

You couldn’t stand it, could you? You couldn’t stand that I’m the one who won!”