The air drained out of the room instantly.

Beatrice froze in mid-bow, every drop of color fleeing her face until she looked like a statue carved from chalk. Her hands shook so violently that her digital catalog tablet slipped from her fingers, crashing onto the marble floor and shattering into pieces. "C-Chairwoman... Kensington?"

Tiffany stumbled backward, her designer heel catching on her dress. She clutched a marble pillar to keep from collapsing, her eyes wide with unadulterated terror as she stared at Aria. The canvas sneakers, the denim jacket, the serene composure—it wasn't the appearance of a broke college ex. It was the untouchable, effortless confidence of the youngest billionaire chairwoman in North America.

Julian Hayes’s arrogant swagger crumbled into ash. Cold sweat drenched his tailored suit collar. Before he could utter a word, the smartphone in his jacket pocket blared violently.

With trembling hands, Julian pulled out the phone. The caller ID showed his father's name—the CEO of Hayes Capital. He answered on speaker, his voice cracking into a panicked squeak. "D-Dad?"

"Julian, you complete idiot, what did you just do?!" his father screamed frantically through the speaker, his hysterical voice echoing across the silent gallery. "Kensington Global just pulled their five-hundred-million-dollar liquidity fund from our firm and initiated a massive short on our stock! Our shares are plummeting seventy percent in pre-market trading! Hayes Capital is going into bankruptcy by sunset if you don't fix this!"

The call disconnected with a sharp beep. Julian stared at the black screen, his knees buckling beneath him. The phone slipped from his trembling hands, crashing onto the marble floor right on top of the two thousand dollars he had slapped against Aria's chest moments earlier.

Aria casually wiped a stray droplet of champagne from her skin with the warm towel, then draped the white silk cape over her shoulders, concealing the stained dress completely.

She turned her cold, piercing sapphire eyes toward the three pale, trembling figures before her, a faint, dangerous smile playing on her lips.

"Now," Aria said softly, her voice cutting through the dead silence like a blade. "Let's discuss who really doesn't belong here."

Beatrice collapsed directly onto her knees, tears smearing her heavy makeup as her trembling hands reached desperately toward the hem of Aria’s white silk cape.

"Chairwoman Kensington! Please! I beg for your mercy!" Beatrice sobbed, her voice echoing pathetically off the high marble ceilings. "I didn't know it was you! If I had known—"

"That is your fundamental flaw, Beatrice," Aria interrupted, her voice smooth, even, and cold as ice. "You extend human decency only to those you deem wealthy enough to deserve it. A person's dignity shouldn't depend on the brand of their shoes."

Aria glanced at Gabriel. "Terminate her employment effective immediately. Ensure her name is circulated across every luxury house, auction gallery, and high-end boutique in Europe and North America. Blacklist her entirely."

"No! Please! Chairwoman Kensington!" Beatrice wept as two female security operatives seized her arms and hauled her out into the street, her frantic pleas dying out on the busy pavement of Manhattan.

The gallery fell dead silent once more. Aria turned her piercing sapphire gaze toward Julian Hayes, who was shaking uncontrollably on the floor beside his shattered smartphone and scattered banknotes.

"Aria... please," Julian stammered, scrambling forward on his hands and knees, clutching his hands together in a desperate plea. "It was a mistake! A horrible misunderstanding! We were happy in college, remember? I loved you! Please call off the liquidity withdrawal! My father's firm will be destroyed!"

Aria looked down at him with quiet, absolute detachment.

"In college, Julian, I lived simply to see if you loved me for who I was," Aria said softly, her words cutting through him like glass. "You chose greed, status, and cruelty. Today, you lose every single one of them."

She looked up at Gabriel. "Proceed with the total liquidation of Hayes Capital's debt bonds. Foreclose on all their assets by sunset."

"Understood, Chairwoman," Gabriel replied with crisp, military efficiency.

Hearing her ticket to high society disintegrate in real time, Tiffany instantly took three steps away from Julian, her face contorting into pure venom. "You pathetic loser! You ruined your family's entire legacy in five minutes! Don't you ever lay a hand on me again!"

Spinning around, Tiffany adjusted her designer dress, forced a sweet, manipulative smile onto her face, and took a delicate step toward Aria. She pressed a hand to her chest, her voice dropping into a soft, breathy purr.

"Chairwoman Kensington... I was completely misled by him. I had no idea he was such a monster. I've always admired brilliant, powerful women like you... perhaps I could buy you a coffee to apologize?"

Aria didn't even glance in her direction. "Gabriel, escort this woman off the premises before she pollutes the air in my gallery."

Two operatives immediately flanked Tiffany, seizing her wrists and dragging her away as she shrieked in outrage. Julian remained slumped on the marble floor, weeping helplessly amidst the scattered cash he had slapped against Aria's chest moments earlier.

Aria turned her back on the ruined heir and walked toward the glass vault in the center of the gallery, where Lot 42—the breathtaking ten-million-dollar pink diamond necklace—rested on black velvet.

A timid junior intern named Mia, who had been watching from the corner with quiet respect, stood nearby holding the key vault with trembling hands.

"Mia," Aria said gently, a warm smile breaking through her cold demeanor. "Would you please unlock the case for me?"

"Y-Yes, Chairwoman Kensington!" Mia stammered, quickly unlocking the glass display and handing the velvet box to Aria with utmost care and reverence.

"You treated me with kindness when I first walked in today," Aria said softly, pulling a sleek black metallic executive card from her tote bag and placing it into Mia's hand. "As of this moment, you are the new Managing Director of Maison de L'Étoile. You will receive a full executive salary package and a one percent equity stake."

Mia stared at the card, tears of disbelief and gratitude welling in her eyes. "Chairwoman Kensington... I won't let you down! I promise!"

"I know you won't," Aria replied, gently patting the young woman's hand. "Remember this day, Mia. Never measure a person's worth by the clothes on their back."

Taking the velvet box containing the pink diamond necklace, Aria wrapped her white silk cape tighter around her shoulders. She turned and walked out through the heavy bronze doors into the bright Manhattan sunlight—a young, untouchable queen who proved that true royalty never needs to boast, and true power always delivers the final word.