Page 153 of The Hunter's Empire

Old footage of my dad begins playing across the screens. Around me, guests watch with quiet approval, and I slowly let out the breath I'd been holding.

Then the anchor pauses. It lasts only a second. Barely noticeable. Yet something about it immediately makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"However..." he continues, his tone shifting from celebratory to serious, "...recently obtained footage has raised unexpected questions surrounding the future of Miss Krogen's engagement."

The ballroom falls completely silent.

"The new heir of the Krogen Empire has been seen in a compromising situation with a man who is not her fiancé."

For a split second, my mind refuses to process what I've just heard. Then the footage begins to play, and my stomach drops.

A familiar hallway fills the screen, and I recognize it instantly. Elysian Haven. Keith and Aurelia's wedding. The photograph is grainy, as though it had been taken from somewhere nearby without our knowledge, but it's clear enough to leave no room for doubt. Nico is standing in front of me, one hand cupping my face as he kisses me. Even frozen in time, the image tells its own story.

The image is blurred enough that individual facial features are difficult to make out, yet anyone who knows us would recognize us immediately.

Someone nearby gasps.

Another guest quietly mutters, "Dear God..."

Conversations explode all at once.

"What the hell was that?"

"Is that really Miss Krogen? I thought she was engaged."

"Who is the man?"

"How did this happen?"

"I heard the wedding had private security."

"Then who leaked the footage?"

The ballroom erupts into whispers, but I remain frozen, staring at the image still filling every screen. My mind races, trying to understand how anyone could have captured that moment. Elysian Haven's security is not easy to breach.

So who took the photograph?

Across the ballroom, I catch Erin moving before anyone else does. The confusion on her face disappears, replaced by sharp, practiced focus. She intercepts Caleb, speaking to him in quick, urgent sentences I can't make out over the growing noise.

He doesn't hesitate.

One hand goes to the radio clipped to his jacket as he begins issuing orders. Almost immediately, security personnelstationed around the ballroom spring into motion. Some head toward the projection booth while others move to the entrances, their sudden coordination telling me everything I need to know.

This wasn't part of the evening. Something had gone terribly wrong.

The questions begin before the screens even go dark.

Reporters surge forward, microphones and cameras suddenly surrounding me from every direction.

"Miss Krogen, can you confirm the photograph is authentic?"

"Who is the man?"

"What does this mean for your engagement?"

The questions blur together as camera flashes erupt across the ballroom. Security rushes to hold the growing crowd back, but every step I take only seems to bring another microphone into my path.

"I..." The word dies before I can finish it. For the first time in years… I don't know what to say.