Chapter 170
Chapter 170:
She wore the starry blue mermaid gown. It followed the lines of her figure perfectly, and the thousands of hand-stitched crystals caught the light from the chandeliers above, making her look as though she had been wrapped in the night sky itself. She wore no heavy jewelry — only a simple diamond drop earring. Her hair was swept back, leaving her sharp, striking features completely unguarded.
She looked breathtaking. She looked like a queen.
Alycia’s face turned a shade of sickly green. Her fingers dug into Cole’s arm. She couldn’t believe June had actually bought that dress.
Cole’s heart slammed against his ribs. He gripped his crystal glass until his knuckles went white. In three years of marriage, he had never once seen her look like this — this powerful, this utterly untouchable.
Crawford guided June smoothly toward a cluster of older, enormously influential Wall Street investment bankers. At first, the men offered her polite, dismissive nods, clearly assuming she was simply Crawford’s companion for the evening.
Then June began to speak.
J𝗼𝗂𝗻 t𝗵𝗈𝗎ѕa𝗇𝘥𝗌 𝗈𝖿 f𝘢𝗻𝗌 𝘰ո
She didn’t talk about fashion or charity auctions. She spoke with razor-sharp precision about the FDA approval pathways for Neuro-X. She dismantled complex biochemical patent barriers with ease and projected the multi-billion-dollar market valuation with the cold, composed logic of someone who had built every number from the ground up.
The bankers’ expressions transformed. The polite smiles dissolved into focused, genuine respect.
A senior managing director from Goldman Sachs looked at Crawford with undisguised astonishment. “Love, you hit the jackpot.” He turned to June directly. “Dr. Erickson, I need you in my office Monday morning to discuss a private equity placement p>
June smiled with easy confidence and handed him her business card — her own, independent business card.
She had shed the diminishing identity of “Mrs. Compton” entirely. In this room, she was Dr. Erickson: the mind behind a medical revolution.
The socialite circle watching from across the ballroom erupted into urgent whispers. The woman they had dismissed as a discarded wife was, in fact, a force the entire room was now orienting itself around.
Alycia stood near the bar, invisible to everyone. Her carefully constructed social standing was crumbling in real time. Standing in the same room as June, she looked like a pale imitation of something authentic.
She tugged desperately at Cole’s sleeve. “Cole, let’s go say hello to the mayor p>
Cole didn’t move. His eyes were fixed on June.
He watched her laugh at something Crawford said. He watched the most powerful men in the room lean in to catch her every word. A sharp, agonizing jealousy drove itself into his chest.
It came to him then, with the slow, crushing weight of absolute clarity — he had kept a brilliant diamond locked in a dark drawer for three years. And now the entire world was watching her shine.
Julian stood at Cole’s side, observing his friend’s face contort in quiet anguish. He took a measured sip of champagne and said nothing. The game had changed entirely, and Cole was losing badly.
The heavy crystal chandeliers dimmed slightly as the gala transitioned into the formal dinner service.
Crawford Love, exercising his absolute authority as the evening’s host, had arranged the seating chart with surgical precision. He guided June to the center seat at the main head table, directly beside him, surrounded by the most powerful billionaires in the room.