High above the grand ballroom floor, an ornate antique grandfather clock ticked rhythmically.
The heavy brass pendulum swung back and forth behind the tall glass cabinet door.
A digital red timer on the media screen displayed twenty nine minutes remaining.
Julian stood near the champagne tower, trying to regain his full composure.
He chuckled awkwardly with a senior investor who looked deeply uncomfortable now.
Julian: My wife has a very dramatic sense of humor sometimes, gentlemen.
Director: She seemed quite serious about those company accounts, Julian.
Julian: She does not even have access to our corporate legal structure, sir.
Director: I certainly hope you have everything under complete control here tonight.
The director turned away to join another conversation across the bright hall.
Julian swallowed hard, feeling a sudden warmth rise under his formal collar.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his own personal smartphone device.
He tapped his financial app to quickly check his primary corporate executive account.
The screen loaded normally, showing his full multi million dollar available balance.
He let out a short breath of relief and smiled to himself bitterly.
He convinced himself once again that Elena was simply acting out dramatically.
Meanwhile, Elena stood near the wide arched balcony overlooking the manicured grounds.
She watched the glowing lights of the city stretching out toward the horizon.
She remembered the day she had hired Julian as a junior project officer.
He had been driven, humble, and deeply passionate about building a great future.
She had fallen in love with his ambition and potential back then.
Over time, she had handed him the reigns of her favorite company division.
She wanted to build a joint legacy that they could both share equally.
Instead, the sudden massive wealth and influence had completely corrupted his character.
He had slowly cut her out of decisions and treated her with growing contempt.
He forgot that the root of all his success belonged to her family estate.
Elena looked down at her silver watch as the hand moved forward steadily.
Fifteen minutes had passed since she made the single decisive telephone call.
She knew that Thaddeus never failed to execute her exact corporate directives.
The legal team was already filing the paperwork with the state authorities.
Julian's temporary kingdom was crumbling down while he drank expensive sweet champagne.