"I've had a strange feeling about tonight," Jake said coldly, his eyes narrowing on Shelly. "And something tells me... you're the one going down." Shelly avoided Jake's gaze "I'm not here to be sure. I'm here to be seen," she replied coolly. Her smile was tightly drawn, and she slipped through the back entrance of the ballroom, her heels clicking with defiance.
The final segment of the gala was already in motion. The crowd had shifted their attention back to the stage, where Samantha now stood beneath a soft gold spotlight, her presence commanding yet effortless. The buzz in the room dipped as the host introduced her once more — "Samantha Bradley, founder and CEO of Elevate."
The applause was thunderous. Cameras panned. Phones rose. Livestreams lit up around the world.
Samantha stepped to the podium, holding the mic with the grace of someone who didn't beg for rooms — she owned them.
"Thank you," she began, voice clear and grounded. "Tonight was never about celebration. It was about acknowledgment. Because behind every innovation, every risk, every win... there is intention. And intention is what drives Elevate. We don't guess. We lead."
Jake nodded slightly from the side of the crowd, arms folded. Lynn stood just behind Samantha's left shoulder, attentive but distant — her role clear: silence, precision, protection.
Chloe leaned toward Kate near the third row. "She's glowing," she whispered.
Kate smirked. "She always does when she's about to make a power move."
Nick, standing further back with two executives from Copenhagen, crossed his arms as his eyes stayed fixed on Samantha. "She's not just smart," he muttered, mostly to himself. "She's dangerous."
The applause died down again as Samantha continued. "I promised transparency. So allow me to honor that promise now."
She paused, scanning the crowd. And just then, the energy shifted.
Shelly had stepped onto the edge of the stage — uninvited.
Some heads turned. Phones went up again. Samantha's gaze locked instantly.
"Samantha, I believe—" Shelly started, her voice falsely sweet into the second mic left unattended on the side of the podium.
Samantha didn't blink. "This stage wasn't built for interruptions," she said, calm but slicing.
Shelly kept smiling. "I just wanted to thank you for believing in the team... in us. Especially considering how quickly Elevate has grown—"
Jake closed his eyes slowly. Here we go, he thought.
Samantha took a full step back from the mic.
"Shelly," she said, her voice low but amplified across the speakers, "we're not doing this here."
The room went pin-drop silent. Even the band had stopped tuning backstage.
Shelly's smile faltered. "Doing what?"
"The performance," Samantha replied.
Some gasps in the crowd. Chloe's brows rose. Kate nudged her. "She's going off script, what's going on."
Samantha stepped back toward the mic. "Ladies and gentlemen," she said, gaze unwavering, "you've seen Elevate rise. You've seen our partnerships multiply. But what you haven't seen is what we clean up behind the scenes to protect that growth."
A murmur rolled through the audience.
"For the past year, Elevate has dealt with leaked emails, sabotaged deals, internal friction that almost cost us our Singapore project. Tonight, I want to publicly thank my legal and analytics team for uncovering the source of those breaches."
Shelly stiffened.
Nick turned fully now. "Oh my God. This is going to be more interesting than I thought"
Jake didn't move.
Samantha turned to Shelly, looked her dead in the eye.
"And I want to use this moment," she continued, "to officially terminate Shelly Monroe's contract with Elevate. Effective immediately."
Gasps exploded. Cameras clicked faster. People fumbled for their phones to record. The media feed went into frenzy.
"You've breached confidentiality, manipulated junior employees, and abused your access to private communications between our partners and clients," Samantha said.
"Wait—" Shelly tried, voice trembling.
"You thought I didn't know?" Samantha's voice was calm, almost too calm. "I knew everything --- long before I even stepped foot in New York for Elevate expansion." She paused, eyes locked on Shelly. "And now your time is up." She turned slightly.
"Security," Samantha's voice sliced through the air , calm but lethal. "Get this ugly bitch out of my sight. I've tolerated poison long enough --- and tonight, I'm done breathing it."
Lynn didn't flinch. Two uniformed men stepped forward from the shadows.
"I'm not going anywhere—"
"You already did," Samantha replied. "Six months ago, when you put Elevate's future at risk."
Shelly looked around the room — eyes wild now, mascara clinging to panic.
"You don't understand," she cried out. "I made Elevate relevant when you turned your back on us years ago. I brought deals—"
"No," Samantha cut in. "You brought doubt. And Elevate doesn't run on doubt. It runs on discipline."
The guards reached for her arms. Shelly tried to shake them off. "You think this is over, Samantha? You'll need me!"
Samantha didn't even look her way again. Instead, she turned back to the podium.
"To anyone recording, yes — this is public. Because Elevate no longer protects betrayal in private."
As Shelly was escorted through the crowd, her heels scraping loudly against the marble, the room watched in stunned silence.
Nick exhaled slowly. "Damn."
Kate looked like she was watching a live season finale.
Jake? He just nodded once, barely.
Samantha adjusted the mic.
"As of this moment," she said, "the position of General Manager at Elevate is open. Applications close at exactly 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. I won't be reviewing résumés. I'll be reviewing vision."
And the room erupted.
Some clapped. Some ran to the back of the hall to find their phones. Chloe and Kate turned to each other.
"She's not just flipping the table," Chloe said. "She's torching it."
Nick was already dialing someone. "Get the team. Now. We're applying."
Samantha took one last look across the ballroom. And then walked off the stage — her silence louder than applause.
Jake met her at the side steps, eyes steady.
"I told you," she said softly, "some people fake diamonds…"
Jake finished, "…and some become pressure."