Unloved Unwanted Unstoppable (Seraphina and Dominic) novel Chapter 171

She remembered Zach was still waiting in the dressing room.

Seraphina paused her fingers on the keyboard. The progress bar for the final video on the screen was ticking away, only seconds from finishing its download.

The sound of footsteps in the corridor grew louder.

She ran out of time. Yanking her phone from the computer port, she darted toward the window.

The moment the door opened, she slipped out through the side exit.

Clutching her phone, she hurried along the garden path and returned to the side hall. When she pushed the door open, Zach was already standing there in his new suit.

He stood before the mirror, the tailored lines of the suit accentuating his broad shoulders and tall frame, making him look completely transformed.

Hearing her enter, he turned around. The redness in his eyes hadn't completely faded, but his gaze was much clearer.

"Seraphina, you're back."

She walked up to him, looking him up and down before curving her lips into a smile. "Looking sharp. Come on, let's go sign that contract."

The main hall was already packed.

Gideon sat in the center of the front row. Dressed in a bespoke black suit, he exuded a quiet, intimidating aura.

The host took the stage. "Next, we officially announce that Laurel Materials, a subsidiary of Cole's, will form a strategic partnership with Sinclair Microtech. Please welcome their representative, Mr. Zachary Sinclair, to the stage for the signing."

A round of applause echoed through the room.

No one walked up to the stage.

Sitting a few rows back, Dominic stared at the empty stage, his gaze turning somber.

Beside him, Cynthia smiled sweetly.

"Dominic, don't worry. I had someone stall Zach. He definitely won't make it out in time to sign the contract."

Dominic's expression grew even colder.

A voice echoed in his mind: *Seraphina, you forced my hand. You're trying to walk all over the Lockwood family. You bullied Lily, you bullied Cynthia. If I let Zach's Sinclair Microtech ride on Cole's coattails, you'll only step on me harder.*

He hated that idea.

The entire hall erupted in an uproar.

Cynthia's smiling face froze. She whipped her head to glare at the manager.

The manager was equally baffled. There were supposed to be a man and a woman in the frame, but only the woman was left.

Anger flared among the audience.

"Why are they playing a video like this on such an important day?"

"This is The Cole Group Gala! What kind of trash is this?"

"Who put this on? This is a massive screw-up!"

Sweating profusely in panic, the manager scrambled to switch the video back to the hall's live feed.

In the front row.

Gideon's gaze turned glacial, though his facial expression remained utterly impassive.