h4Chapter 196: Chapter 196/h4

    At that moment she didn’t flinch. She didn’t give Abigail or Victoria the satisfaction of even one more nce. Instead, she turned gracefully on her heels, walked back to her seat with the elegance of someone who knew her worth, and sat down. One leg crossed over the other, her hands resting on the arms of her chair like she was the one in control all along.

    That simple act sitting down like she had already won ignited something deeper in Abigail and Victoria.

    Immediately Abigail’s jaw clenched tightly. Her face was burning, not from embarrassment this time, but from seething rage masked behind a bitter smile. She leaned slightly toward Victoria and whispered, "She’s really going to act like this is over?"

    However Victoria’s eyes didn’t leave Cora for a second. Sheughed under her breath, but it wasn’t out of amusement. It was theugh of someone who was being provoked beyond their tolerance. Then, without a second thought, she raised her voice loud enough for everyone around to hear.

    "If the announcer so much as touches that dress and hand it over to Cora, she’s getting sacked. That’s not a threat. That’s a promise. We will destroy her. Crumble her career until there’s nothing left."

    The room tensed up.

    Gasps floated in the background as heads turned toward the announcer, whose hands were frozen halfway of giving the order for the dress to me package.

    The announcer blinked, realizing the full weight of what had just been said. Her mouth opened, closed, and opened again, but no words came out until finally, with a strained bow of the head and trembling fingers, she turned to Abigail and Victoria.

    "I... I’m very sorry," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Since... since you’re the ones I must reason with, I will take the necessary action. Please forgive me."

    Hearing what the announcer just said, Abigail and Victoria couldn’t believe their ears, let alone their eyes. The shift in the announcer’s tone from submissive to authoritative caught thempletely off guard. They stared at her as though she had grown a second head.

    "Wait, what did she just say?" Abigail muttered in disbelief.

    Victoria, trying to hold back her scoff, nced sharply at Abigail. "Did she just say she’s taking action? Against us?"

    There was a flicker of nervous confusion between them, but it quickly morphed into fury wrapped in arrogance. Victoria sneered and stepped forward, folding her arms tightly. "Oh, I see what this is now," she said in a raised voice. "You think just because you’re standing there with a badge and a mic, you can open your mouth anyhow? You clearly have no idea who you’re messing with."

    Abigail joined in, her tone mocking. "Exactly. Just imagine. A nobody, a lowlife like you, trying to raise her voice at us? Us? Do you know how many people would beg just to breathe the same air we breathe?"

    The announcer remained calm. Her head was slightly bowed, her hand already gripping the walkie-talkie attached to her waist. The moment Abigail tried to step forward again, she raised it and pressed the side button.

    "Security to section three," she said into the device, loud and clear. "Now."

    The moment the words were said, Abigail and Victoria blinked.

    "She’s serious?" Victoria’s mouth dropped slightly, then twisted into a bitter grin. "She’s actually calling security on us?"

    Immediately Abigail burst intoughter as if the whole scene had just be aedy show. "Oh my God. This is hrious. This riffraff is calling security on us? After you made the mistake? After you clearly nned this whole sabotage with that miserable girl? And now you’re calling security?"

    Immediately Victoria shook her head in disbelief. "This is beyond crazy. Like, how low can you fall before you realize you’re digging your own grave?"

    At that moment, Abigail’s voice rang loud and sharp across the quiet room as she turned to Victoria with her usual haughty re.

    "We are not moving a single step," she dered, her chin slightly raised with defiance. "Let theme. Let the securitye. Let everyonee. We are standing here until we see the director of Everything Luxury. I don’t care if it takes all day, but we’re not leaving this ce until this nonsense is resolved and that ridiculous woman is held ountable."

    Victoria, who had been fuming beside her, immediately nodded in agreement, as if Abigail’s words gave her renewed strength. "Yes," she said firmly. "That’s exactly what we’re going to do. We are not going to move an inch until we get what we want. Until we drag out that director and get this good-for-nothing low-ssdy removed from existence." Her tone sharpened, and she jabbed her manicured finger at the announcer, a scowl painting her entire face. "She deserves to be sacked. In fact, not just sacked, cklisted! She should never work in any establishment again, not even a roadside boutique!"

    The venom in her words made even a few of the bystanders flinch, but the announcer stood still. She didn’t flinch. She didn’t defend herself. She didn’t even utter a word. Her face remainedposed, but the tension in the air was thick enough to choke on.

    All around them, the audiencedies dressed in the finest designer gowns, women of wealth and status watched in stunned silence. A few exchanged nces with one another, unsure whether to step in or stay out of it. They had alle to enjoy the show, to admire the fashion, the grace, the elegance of the event. But what they were witnessing now felt more like a street brawl between power-hungry socialites than a prestigious unveiling ceremony.

    Many of them recognized Abigail and Victoria’s overreach. It was painfully obvious that this had gone beyond a simple misunderstanding. Everyone knew that Everything Luxury did not make careless mistakes like this. And even if a mistake had truly happened, the announcer had already apologized. But that apology didn’t seem enough for these two women. It wasn’t about the dress anymore it was about control, about dominance. It was about making an example out of someone, about reminding everyone in the room who supposedly held the real power.

    And that realization made some of the guests quietly ufortable. It reminded them of how far Abigail and Victoria were willing to go when things didn’t go their way. But still, no one said anything. Not a word.

    Because behind that silence was fear. A few of them had business connections with Abigail signed deals, pending projects, fragile negotiations. Speaking up now could jeopardize those deals. A single word in defense of the announcer mighte back to haunt themter. And so, they stayed quiet. Not because they agreed but because their deals might depend on it.