Richard Halston.
Former CEO of Halston Capital.
The man whose company had destroyed her career.
He had not seen Naomi yet.
Evan noticed her reaction.
"Do you know him?"
Naomi couldn't answer.
Richard turned.
Their eyes met.
The color drained from his face.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Richard walked toward her.
"Naomi."
She hadn't heard him say her name in six years.
Arthur immediately stepped beside her.
Richard forced a smile.
"I didn't expect to see you here."
Naomi found her voice.
"I imagine you didn't."
Evan looked between them.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Richard glanced at Evan.
"Carrington, congratulations on the event."
Evan didn't respond.
Instead, he asked, "Why were fraudulent authorization records attached to Ms. Brooks's name during the Halston investigation?"
Richard's smile disappeared.
Naomi stared at Evan.
Richard adjusted his cuff.
"I have no idea what you're referring to."
"I think you do."
Several nearby guests had begun listening.
Richard lowered his voice.
"This isn't the place."
Naomi almost laughed.
For six years, powerful people had decided when and where she was allowed to speak.
Not tonight.
"No," she said calmly. "I think this is exactly the place."
Richard looked at her.
The ballroom seemed to quiet around them.
Naomi felt her heartbeat pounding against her ribs.
"You told everyone I authorized those transfers."
Richard said nothing.
"You knew I didn't."
"Naomi—"
"You destroyed my career because I discovered what your executives were doing."
"Be careful."
The warning in his voice was unmistakable.
Years earlier, it would have frightened her.
Tonight, it didn't.
Naomi stepped closer.
"I've been careful for six years."
Richard's jaw tightened.
"And where did that get you?"
The words came out before he could stop them.
Naomi's face changed.
So did Evan's.
Richard realized his mistake.
Naomi looked around the ballroom.
Then back at him.
"It got me here."
Silence.
"Still standing."
Arthur smiled.
Richard said nothing.
Naomi continued.
"I lost my career. I lost my savings. I spent years wondering whether telling the truth had been the biggest mistake of my life."
Her voice remained steady.
"But I didn't lose myself."
Across the ballroom, Tyler Mason—the man who had suggested inviting Naomi for entertainment—stood completely motionless.
The joke felt very far away now.
Evan stepped beside Naomi.
"Tomorrow morning, every document from our Halston acquisition goes to independent counsel."
Richard's face hardened.
"Think carefully about what you're doing."
"I am."
Evan turned toward Naomi.
Their eyes met.
There was no smirk this time.
No amusement.
Only shame.
"I owe you an apology."
Naomi studied him.
"Yes."
The simple answer surprised him.
"I invited you tonight for the wrong reason."
"I know."
Evan's face tightened.
"You heard us."
"Every word."
He closed his eyes briefly.
Naomi could have humiliated him then.
Hundreds of people were watching.
She could have told everyone exactly what he had said.
Instead, she did something Evan would remember for the rest of his life.
She showed him the grace he had refused to show her.
"I'm not going to embarrass you, Mr. Carrington."
Evan looked at her.
"But I hope you remember how easy it was for you to believe that someone with less money was worth less respect."
He had no answer.
Naomi turned away.
That should have been the end of the evening.
Instead, Arthur touched her arm.
"Naomi."
She stopped.
"There's something else you need to know."
His expression had become serious.
"What?"
Arthur looked toward Richard Halston.
Then toward Evan.
"The investigation wasn't reopened by accident."
Naomi frowned.
"What are you saying?"
Arthur hesitated.
"Your father contacted me shortly before he died."
The blood seemed to drain from Naomi's body.
"My father?"
"He knew what Halston was doing."
Naomi stared at him.
Arthur lowered his voice.
"And he left evidence."
Naomi's heart stopped.
For six years, she had believed her father's death, her ruined career, and the scandal at Halston were separate tragedies.
Now, standing beneath crystal chandeliers in a ballroom she had entered as someone's joke, Naomi realized they might be pieces of the same story.
Across the room, Richard Halston was already heading toward the exit.
And suddenly, Naomi understood something else.
He wasn't embarrassed to see her.
He was afraid.
The night Evan Carrington had planned as a cruel joke had become something entirely different.
Naomi had walked into the gala believing she had nothing to prove.
By midnight, she would discover that the truth she had buried for six years was only beginning to surface.
And this time, she wasn't going to run from it.
Naomi stared at Arthur Bell as if the ballroom had suddenly tilted beneath her feet.
"My father contacted you?"
Arthur nodded slowly.
"Three weeks before he died."
The music continued behind them. Glasses clinked. Guests whispered. Somewhere near the entrance, Richard Halston was disappearing through the crowd.
But Naomi barely noticed any of it.
Her father, Marcus Brooks, had been dead for six years.
For six years, she had accepted the official explanation that his fatal heart attack had been a cruel coincidence during the worst period of their family's life.
Now Arthur was telling her that Marcus had known something about Halston Capital.
"What did he say to you?"
Arthur glanced around.
"Not here."
Naomi followed his gaze.