Chapter 2They Called Me a Nobody

“You don’t need to know who I am,” I said, my gaze locked on him. “You just need to know that I’m Ava’s friend. And if you want this wedding to happen, you will bring her to me. Now.”

The security team formed a loose circle around the three of them, a silent, intimidating wall. Chloe stomped her foot, her champagne-soaked dress squelching pathetically. “If you’re her friend, why are you doing this to us? Everyone who’s anyone in New York is out there! Ava isn’t just embarrassing me; she’s making a mockery of the entire Davenport family!”

“That viper! That ungrateful snake!” Mr. Davenport’s face was turning a blotchy, furious red. “By tomorrow, this will be all over the society pages! The Davenports will be a laughingstock!” He turned on his wife. “I told you we should have just left it alone! People lose children every day, it’s fate! But no, you had to go looking!”

“What good does saying that now do?” she shrieked back. “If I’d known she was this much trouble, I would have preferred she’d died out there! A gutter-born animal with no manners, after all the money I wasted on her!”

The story of the lost Davenport heiress had been national news. They had poured millions into a TV drama about missing children, a vanity project designed to find their daughter. Every episode began and ended with Mr. and Mrs. Davenport, weeping into the camera, pleading for her return. Ava had been hesitant, unsure about re-entering their world. But they’d gone on talk shows, they’d sworn to the entire country that they would spend the rest of their lives making up for the years they’d lost.

Their performance had convinced me. It was I who had encouraged Ava to go back to them.

Two months. How had their hearts turned to stone in just two months?

My jaw tightened. I pulled out my phone and tried Ava’s number again. Straight to voicemail. My patience evaporated.

I held out my hand, and the captain of the security detail, as if anticipating my need, placed a long, thin riding crop into my palm.

“Tell me where Ava is,” I demanded, the leather tip tapping against the marble floor with a sharp crack.

Just then, a man pushed through the security cordon and strode into the room. “What the hell is going on? Why was my wedding cancelled?”

The Davenports lit up like they’d seen a savior. “Carter, darling, you’re finally here!” Mrs. Davenport cried.

“Mr. Sterling, this girl cancelled your wedding without your permission! You have to stop her!”

“Carter!” Chloe wailed, running to him. “Look what she did to my dress! She’s just some nobody extra Ava used to know! She’s here to cause trouble, to disrespect your family, to disrespect you!” She looked up at him, her beautiful face streaked with tears and mascara, a perfect picture of wounded innocence. “All our guests are watching! You have to put her in her place!”

A thunderous look crossed Carter’s face. “Who the hell did this to my wife?” he boomed, scanning the room. “Who thinks they can come to New York and screw with the Sterling family? You got a death wish?”

Whispers erupted from the onlookers who had crowded the doorway.

“That’s Carter Sterling! His family practically built this city. They’re old-world power, serious political connections.”

“No wonder the Davenports kicked out their real daughter. The adopted one landed the biggest fish in the sea.”

“Carter’s family is untouchable in this town. It doesn't matter if this girl is right or wrong, she’s about to get flattened.”

As the crowd waited for the fireworks, I flicked my wrist. The riding crop sliced through the air and struck Carter across the chest. I’d spent six months in intensive training with a world-renowned stunt coordinator for a role. My technique was flawless.

Even with only a fraction of my strength, a bright red welt blossomed instantly on his white tuxedo jacket.

“Who the hell hit me?” he roared, stunned.

I took a step forward. “Do I need an appointment?”

Carter clutched his arm, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and fury. Then, recognition dawned. “You! What are you doing here?”

“Is that any way to greet your elders?” I gestured with the crop toward Chloe. “I thought you were marrying the Davenport heiress. Who’s the impostor?”

A flicker of guilt—or maybe fear—crossed his face. “I saw you last on a film set in Vancouver. This is my business. Stay out of it.”

Your business?

A humorless smile touched my lips. “Kneel.”

Carter’s jaw clenched, his eyes burning with defiance.

Chloe scoffed from behind him. “He’s Carter Sterling! Why in the world would he ever kneel to a nobody like you?”

I didn’t even bother to look at her. With another sharp flick of my wrist, I struck the back of Carter’s knee. His leg buckled, and he fell to the ground with a grunt of pain, landing heavily on one knee.

“Jade,” he choked out, his face pale. “I thought you said you were too busy to come to the wedding.”