Ella's heels clicked against the marble like bullets in a barrel as she stepped into the center of the ballroom.
Eyes.Hundreds of them.Glued to her every breath, every blink.
But her spine stayed straight.
Her chin didn't tremble.
And when she reached him—Leon, Carter, the devil in a serpent mask—she didn't take his hand.
She slapped it away.
Hard.
Gasps rippled through the room like thunder.
She should've been afraid.
He held the power now.The resources.The eyes of every billionaire, arms dealer, and shadow king in the world.
But he didn't hold her.
Not anymore.
Because love without truth was just another prison.
And Ella Shen had already burned her last cage.
So if he wanted her back—
He'd have to bleed for it.
She stood before him like winter before wildfire—frozen but brilliant, a storm in satin heels.
He was heat, chaos, a sun reborn in darkness.
But she?
She had become ice with a pulse.
The kind of cold that didn't shatter—it cut.
Leon's smirk didn't fade."If you slap me in public, imagine what I expect in private."
Ella leaned in, her voice a whisper soaked in venom."I'm not your wife. I'm your witness."
His brow arched."To what, exactly?"
Her eyes blazed."To every crime you committed. Every secret you buried. Every life you shattered."
She reached into her clutch—pulled out a flash drive—held it up to the crowd.
"This contains Project E's original files. Everything they did. Everything he helped design."
Gasps. Murmurs.
Leon's smile cracked—just for a second.
"You wouldn't."
"I already did."
The lights in the ballroom exploded.
Red emergency strobes bathed the room in chaos.
Gunmen in black stormed the exits—
Not for her.
But for the flash drive.
Leon lunged forward, grabbing her wrist.
His voice dropped to a growl.
"If you wanted war, Ella—"
She leaned in."I came dressed for it."
And with that, she twisted from his grip—
And vanished into the storm.