Chapter 266 The Grand Finale
Chapter 266 The Grand Finale
Audrey walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Looking at this man who'd thrown his life on the line to protect her, she felt something shift in her chest—something she'd never felt before.
When that truss came crashing down, all several hundred pounds of it, she truly thought she was going to lose him.
She was used to facing everything alone. She'd never imagined someone would throw themselves between her and death without a second thought.
"It's handled." Audrey turned his hand over in hers, her fingertips cool against his palm.
She lifted her eyes to meet his, her gaze clear and direct, without a trace of hesitation. "Reid, let's get married."
The hospital room fell silent.
Reid froze. He stared at her serious expression, his breath catching in his throat.
He'd planned to wait until she was settled at Wharton, then orchestrate some grand proposal. He never expected her to be this direct.
"I've thought it through." Audrey's tone was calm but absolutely certain. "This accident made me realize something—you can't logic your way through life and death. Since I know it's you, I don't want to waste any more time."
Reid's eyes burned.
He pulled her into his arms with sudden force, holding her so tight it was like he wanted to fuse her into his bones.
"Yes." Reid's voice trembled with barely contained joy. "Audrey, I'll handle everything. I swear I'll give you the most spectacular wedding the world has ever seen."
Two months later, Beverly Hills.
A sprawling private estate covering thousands of acres had been completely bought out by the Harrington Corporation empire.
The wedding of the century came with a staggering price tag and security rivaling a head of state's visit. Blackwater Worldwide contractors with live weapons locked down the airspace and roads for miles around.
Hundreds of top-tier media outlets from around the world were invited, with helicopters conducting aerial broadcasts.
The estate's lawns were carpeted with premium white roses flown in from Bulgaria.
Audrey wore a gown that had taken a Parisian atelier over a thousand hours to hand-sew. The train was embedded with tens of thousands of flawless diamonds that caught the California sunlight and threw it back in dazzling rays.
Julian, eyes red, solemnly placed Audrey's hand in Reid's palm.
Ethan and Vernon stood nearby, watching their sister marry with expressions full of reluctance and warning—as if Reid better treat her right, or they'd draw their weapons.
Reid wore an impeccably tailored tuxedo, his gaze deep and focused entirely on the woman before him.
After they exchanged rings, Reid didn't follow protocol with the kiss. Instead, he turned and took a microphone from Aaron, facing the global media cameras.
"Today, with the world watching, I want to make an announcement." Reid's voice was low and commanding. Aaron held up a thick legal document for the cameras.
"From this moment forward, all equity in Harrington Corporation, all real estate holdings, and all trust funds under my name are being transferred unconditionally to my wife, Audrey."
The crowd erupted. Flashbulbs went wild.
Billions of dollars in assets. Reid didn't even blink before handing it all over. He turned back, leaned down, and kissed Audrey's lips. Under the eyes of thousands, they kissed, the image freezing into something eternal.
Across the ocean, in a cramped, dingy rental apartment.
Caleb and Claire stared at the global broadcast on their TV screen, faces pale, bodies shaking.
That radiant bride wearing a crown, treasured by a billionaire empire heir—that was Audrey, the foster daughter they'd mistreated and finally kicked out.
"How is this possible... how could she be a Collins?" Claire collapsed to the floor, sick with regret.
If they'd just been a little kinder to Audrey back then, if they hadn't thrown her out, they'd be the ones sitting in those VIP seats in Beverly Hills right now.
Caleb slapped himself hard across the face, eyes hollow with despair.
The Carter family was bankrupt now. They were crammed into this tiny apartment, couldn't even afford their next meal, while the girl they'd treated like trash stood at the pinnacle of the world.
Meanwhile, outside the Beverly Hills estate.
Ryan clung to the ornate iron gates like a madman, having slipped through a gap in the security rotation.
His clothes were ragged, eyes sunken, face covered in stubble. Nothing remained of the confident rich kid he'd once been.
After the Williams family went bankrupt, his life had been a living hell. Only today, seeing the broadcast, did he realize what he'd lost.
"Audrey! Audrey!" Ryan screamed hoarsely through the security line toward the red carpet. "I was wrong! Give me one more chance! I loved you!"
Audrey on the red carpet didn't even flinch. It was like she'd heard a dog barking.
Reid's eyes went cold. He tilted his head slightly, making a gesture.
Aaron immediately strode over with several muscular Blackwater guards. Before Ryan could shout again, a guard's fist slammed into his jaw, followed by a boot that shattered his kneecap.
Ryan broke out in a cold sweat, the scream lodged in his throat.
"Drag him somewhere out of sight. Don't let him dirty Mrs. Harrington's eyes," Aaron ordered coldly.
The guards dragged Ryan like a dead dog into a dark alley.
After a thorough beating, Ryan lay in a pool of blood like rotting garbage. He'd spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, his pathetic dreams finally crushed.
In the days after the wedding, Caleb and Claire refused to give up.
They spent their last savings on a ticket to the US, trying to contact North American tabloids, planning to use 'parental obligation' for moral blackmail, forcing Audrey to support them.
Their scheme never got off the ground. Reid's people intercepted them.
Reid never let these disgusting people anywhere near Audrey.
He used his empire's resources to cut off all their channels, revoked their visas, and had them forcibly deported on fraud charges.
Not only that, Reid greased the right wheels back home.
When Claire and Caleb returned, they faced massive debt lawsuits and endless legal troubles.
They were blacklisted completely, condemned to struggle at the bottom of society for the rest of their lives, never able to get within a mile of Audrey again.
Night fell deep over Beverly Hills, in the master bedroom.
The elaborate wedding gown lay discarded on the wool carpet. The bedroom lights were off except for a few wall sconces casting warm, intimate shadows.
Reid had Audrey pressed against the floor-to-ceiling windows, Los Angeles glittering behind her.
His kisses rained down, burning with long-restrained heat and possession, trailing from the corner of her lips down the curve of her neck.
Audrey tilted her head back slightly, her usually cool eyes now misty.
She didn't pull away. She wrapped her arms around his neck, matching his intensity.
Feeling her response, Reid's control finally snapped.
He swept her up in his arms, striding toward the king-size bed.
The night deepened. The temperature inside climbed.
Through tangled sheets and breathless moments, Reid kept their fingers locked together, intertwined. His voice came rough and hoarse, filled with unshakeable devotion and possessive certainty, whispered against her ear.
"Audrey, you're mine now."
Audrey rested against his sweat-dampened chest, listening to his powerful heartbeat, the faintest curve touching her lips.
"Yes. Yours."
Through life and death, never to be parted.