Chapter 10 - The Serpent’s Gala
The Grand Plaza Hotel gleamed with gilded decadence. Limousines lined the red carpet as high-society donors, judges in tuxedoes, and tech moguls in velvet dinner jackets stepped past flashing cameras.
Inside the ballroom, crystal chandeliers threw diamond patterns across three hundred high-society guests sipping champagne. On the elevated stage, a massive 4K LED screen displayed a towering portrait of Carter Vance beneath the gold-lettered banner: VISIONARY. PHILANTHROPIST. LEADER.
Carter Vance stood at the center of a circle of adoring investors, holding a crystal glass of scotch. "The allegations circulating on social media are unfortunate," Vance remarked with effortless charm to a state senator. "A tragic manifestation of my wife’s prolonged battle with clinical paranoia. Julian Reyes is an unstable veteran exploiting her illness for financial extortion. My lawyers will have him detained before midnight."
The senator nodded sympathetically. "Terrible business, Carter. But the polls look incredible for your gubernatorial bid. The city needs a businessman with your... resolve."
Up in the service mezzanine, Julian moved silently through the dim lighting, dressed in the black vest of a banquet supervisor. In his ear, Maya spoke over an encrypted radio channel: "Julian, I’m patched into the audiovisual routing matrix beneath the stage. I need ninety seconds of uninterrupted access to overwrite the presentation server."
"You have sixty," Julian replied, spotting two Ironwood security contractors approaching the control alcove. "They’re checking credentials."
Julian stepped out from the shadows, blocking the doorway with an iron authority. "Excuse me, gentlemen. Banquet service needs this hallway clear for the governor’s catering detail."
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The lead guard’s hand dropped toward his concealed holster. "We don't answer to banquet service. Step aside, pal."
Julian’s eyes narrowed. "Wrong answer."
