Chapter 55
Things on Vivian and Brandon's side had erupted into complete pandemonium.
When the dust settled, all Millie witnessed was Brandon sweeping Vivian into his arms and rushing her toward the villa's entrance.
The spectacle unfolded before more than just Millie's eyes-every single person present absorbed the dramatic scene.
Charles studied Millie's face, worry etching deep lines across his features.
Words pressed against his lips, demanding release,but the sea of reporters surrounding them forced his silence.Instead, he began barking at the crowd.
The Elliott siblings absorbed every detail of the unfolding drama. Jayceon's expression twisted into one of complete dismissal. His sister beside him also rolled her eyes with barely concealed contempt.
Each observer processed the chaos through their own lens of judgment.
Millie, however, simply pulled her attention away with studied indifference.
The man cradling Vivian against his chest might as well have been a stranger rather than the husband who had shared her life for countless years.The entire spectacle felt disconnected from her reality.
Sirens wailed from within the villa once more, their urgent cry soon joined by the rhythmic thrum of helicopter blades.
Millie tilted her head skyward and located the aircraft circling overhead like a mechanical vulture.
Charles positioned himself as her shield while they navigated toward the helicopter's landing zone.
Millie acknowledged his guidance with a brief nod, and then moved alongside the security team that had finally carved a path through the pressing crowd, all of them heading back toward the villa.
The Evans Group personnel, previously trapped behind the human barrier, had broken through at last,establishing clear corridors for the departing banquet guests.
The exodus began with surprising organization, and under the security team's watchful supervision, the dense crowd gradually dispersed into manageable streams.
As Millie placed her foot on the first step leading to the rooftop where the helicopters waited,she allowed herself one final backward glance.
Far below on the ground floor, the masses had formed a natural circle of space. Vivian had emerged from unconsciousness, and Brandon maintained his vigil beside her, his body angled toward hers as he murmured words meant only for her ears.
Every line of tension in his furrowed brow and the rigid set of his compressed lips painted a portrait of genuine anxiety for Vivian's wellbeing.
Charles traced Millie's line of sight, and then spoke with gentle firmness. "We should leave now."
Millie dropped her eyes and pivoted away,refusing to grant the scene below another moment of her attention.
"Okay," she responded, falling into step behind Charles as they exited through the passageway.
Down on the ground floor, Brandon's instincts stirred with an inexplicable awareness, prompting him to lift his gaze upward, but he discovered only the vacant entrance to the rooftop and the impenetrable darkness that stretched beyond it.
The helicopter's rotors thundered above him, their mechanical rhythm somehow amplifying the hollowness that had settled deep within his chest.
"Please forgive me for causing you such distress,Brandon," Vivian whispered from her position beside him, her voice barely audible over the chaos. "My eagerness got the better of me, and I crammed far too many events into today's schedule.Please forgive me. It's simply that...my remaining time grows shorter with each passing day, but I still have so much I wanna do..."
Brandon's forehead creased into even deeper lines,while an acute pain pierced through his heart like a blade. He moved his head from side to side in a gentle negation,his silent gesture conveying that no apology was necessary.
High above them in the helicopter's cabin, Millie fixed her gaze on the sprawling cityscape that stretched endlessly below.
The aircraft rose from the hillside villa's rooftop landing pad, soaring over the congested mountain roads toward the low-altitude corridor that the Evans family had secured through official channels.
Traffic remained locked in gridlock far beneath them,though a single lane had been carved out to allow vehicles to inch forward through the bottleneck.
Powerful downdrafts from the helicopter's spinning blades caught Millie's long hair and sent it streaming behind her like silk ribbons in a storm.
As she gazed down at the glittering metropolis,Millie couldn't quite grasp what thoughts were swimming through her mind. She simply felt bone-deep exhaustion wash over her.
Without warning,someone settled a jacket across her shoulders. The ganmont still held residual warmth, carrying with it the subtle fragrance of pine needles
She rotated her head to discover Charles, his hair tousled by the relentless wind, his eyes brimming with ummistakable concern.
His mouth moved as he attempted to communicate.but the helicopter's deafening roar swallowed every syllable She couldn't catch even a whisper of his words
Far below in the villa's expansive parking area.Brandon and Vivian had retreated to the sanctuary of their waiting vehicle.
After carefully settling Vivian into the front passenger seat. Brandon accepted a compact security case containing the evening's auction acquisitions from one of the Evans Group staff members.
He triggered the lock mechanism and lifted the lid for inspection. The tanzanite gemstone and the blood-red ruby pendant nestled safely in their protective foam compartments.
Brandon offered a confirming nod, signaling that he had verified the contents met his expectations.
He observed the Evans staff members as they departed, but made no immediate move to slip behind the wheel himself.
The Bugatti Centodieci waited in perfect silence,its sleek frame gleaming under the security lights Brandon cast a glance toward the reporters being restrained by the Evans Group's security team, and then allowed his gaze to drop downward.
With his lips compressed into a thin line, Brandon retrieved his phone from his pocket.
His long fingers began scrolling trough his message history, searching for something specific among the digital conversations.
He eventually located Millie's chat window.
Unlike every other conversation thread that buzzed with constant notifications, this one remained eerily quiet. Not a single message had appeared.
She still hadn't made any attempt to contact him.
"Brandon?" Vivian's voice drifted from the seat beside him, soft and questioning.
At some point during his contemplation, Vivian had slipped from the vehicle and now stood beside the front passenger door, her gaze fixed on him with eyes that still held the pallor of weakness.
"Has something gone wrong with the auction acquisitions?" Vivian inquired, her smile attempting to mask the fragility that clung to her features.
Brandon tucked his phone away with deliberate precision, shook his head in gentle dismissal, and secured the portable safe back within the car's interior.
"I'll escort you home," he declared with quiet resolve.
"That sounds perfect," Vivian responded, her smile warming despite her obvious exhaustion.
The Bugatti began its descent down the winding mountain road, every other vehicle instinctively yielding passage to the luxury sports car.
Brandon's expression remained an impenetrable mask,his genuine emotions buried beneath layers of practiced composure, yet the helicopter's rhythmic rotor beats seemed to reverberate endlessly through his consciousness.
...
The guests departed in orderly fashion, and the once -chaotic, thunderous venue gradually surrendered to tranquil silence.
However, the digital realm was beginning to ignite with fevered discussions.
The evening's first wave of entertainment emerged from private wagering among the wealthy elite.
Two specific bets had centered around bidders 888and 823-the first concerning which participant would ultimately claim victory in the auction, and the second involving how many bidding rounds participant 823 would dare to continue once Brandon entered the competition.
The initial wager had been virtually guaranteed given Brandon's astronomical wealth, resulting in disappointingly low odds for anyone brave enough to place money.
The second bet had delivered the evening's genuine surprise. Not a single person had predicted the correct number of rounds, allowing the house to gleefully collect everyone's contributions.
"Bidder 823 demonstrated remarkable skill tonight.Not only did she outmaneuver Brandon in psychological warfare,but she also ensured that all of us lost our wagers spectacularly."
"Nevertheless, unlimited financial power remains undeniably impressive. When will I possess the ability to emulate Brandon's approach-dismissing all elaborate strategies and simply overwhelming opponents with pure monetary force? Regardless of how brilliant bidder 823's mind games proved to be,she still succumbed to the crushing weight of unlimited wealth."
"You speak as though unlimited wealth can be acquired as effortlessly as playground currency. Do you truly believe you can possess such power simply because you desire it?"
"Ha-ha. For Brandon, it essentially functions exactly like playground currency." "Your observation rings completely true."
Everyone continued their animated conversations,while the house operators beamed with satisfaction.
These wagers represented mere pocket change to the establishment, yet even modest profits brought genuine joy to the house's coffers.
Most significantly, that enigmatic masked woman had etched herself into the memories of countless high society members throughout the evening.
If her exclusive contract with Evans Entertainment hadn't been common knowledge, recruitment attempts would have begun flooding in from every direction.
Even though Evans Entertainment functioned as merely one division within the Evans Group's business empire,the Evans Group itself commanded respect as one of Crobert's three dominant powerhouses, and no competitor could guarantee superior contractual terms.
Naturally, this entire discussion remained confined within the exclusive circles of the social elite.
Any media coverage regarding the evening's events within the villa still required thorough review before receiving publication approval.
Meanwhile, the trending topics dominating online conversations featured hashtags like BrandonDramaticGesture, quickly followed by #VivianFaintedFromExhaustion and #CharityWork.
The accompanying photographs captured drones illuminating the night sky above the Evans mansion with brilliant displays of light and cascading firework trails, as well as the pivotal moment when Vivian collapsed before the assembled crowd and Brandon swept her into his protective embrace.