CHAPTER 1 — The Silence After the Lock
The ballroom was no longer a place of celebration.
It had become a cage.
Crystal chandeliers still shone above, but their light now felt colder—like prison lights reflecting off marble floors. Guests stood frozen between panic and disbelief as the steel barriers sealed every exit with mechanical finality.
Nicolás Ferrer backed away slowly.
For the first time in his life, he wasn’t the one in control.
Valeria stood still at the center of the room, her bloodied lip now dry, her expression unreadable. Calm. Almost detached.
“Do you know what you’ve done?” Nicolás whispered, voice cracking.
Valeria tilted her head slightly.
“I corrected a mistake.”
Around them, phones came out. People tried calling security, police, anyone. But no signal worked. The system had already been overridden.
Nicolás forced a nervous laugh.
“You think locking a few doors makes you powerful?”
Valeria finally looked at him directly.
“No,” she said softly. “What makes me powerful is that I didn’t need to run.”
A distant mechanical hum echoed through the walls.
Something was still activating.
And Nicolás suddenly realized—
May you like
the gala was never the beginning of this story.
It was the end of his freedom.
