Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge
Chapter 118: Untouchable

Chapter 118: Untouchable

The quiet between them thickened, but not with fear.

The low glow from scattered torches framed them like a painting no one dared interrupt. Aveline could feel his gaze, not like a weight, but like warmth grazing her skin.

A breath passed between them. Then....

The lights snapped on.

Aveline’s eyes instinctively fluttered shut, blinded by the sudden wash of brightness. When she opened them again, Alaric was still watching her, unbothered. His expression was unreadable but unmistakably softened.

It wasn’t just the admiration. It was the way he looked that he couldn’t help but admire her.

She didn’t move. Neither did he.

What stunned him more than her composure was the way she was looking at him now.

She hadn’t changed. And yet, she had. He could feel it.

There was something different in her eyes, something unspoken. It was quieter. Deeper.

Then her dress slipped from her fingers, the hem trailing downward, too close to the blood-slicked floor.

Alaric moved without thought. One arm swept around her waist. He lifted her effortlessly, shifting her just enough to keep the silk from soaking in crimson.

Aveline’s breath hitched faintly. Not out of fear. Not even surprised. But because she could feel him. The closeness.

Oddly, though she was still attracted to him, it felt different.

He could feel her too. The way her body eased in that brief moment, how she didn’t tense to pull away but simply breathed near him.

His fingers lingered at her waist before he forced them away, dragging the distance back between them inch by inch.

"Stop flirting," she whispered.

His lips barely moved. "I just stated a fact."

And it was a fact. He hadn’t meant to flirt. But he had noticed the way her eyes had lit up when she saw him, the way she had walked half the hall without looking away from him, the way she now stayed.

The cleaning staff interrupted, and he straightened. But before they parted ways, he offered her his hand, a simple gesture, and he wanted her to take it.

She did.

They walked together and entered the hall as she asked softly, "Will you give up?"

In a time when people changed their interests quite often, she wanted to be sure that she wasn’t guiding herself down the wrong path.

He didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he guided her back to her seat, stayed until she was seated, and leaned down just enough for only her to hear, "If giving up was my answer... I wouldn’t be standing beside you now."

Her eyes widened, just a fraction. But he caught it.

Aveline sat straighter than necessary, but couldn’t stop the faintest smile pulling at her lips. Or the warmth blooming beneath her skin.

As Alaric walked back to his own seat, the crowd had clearly noticed. Eyes trailed him. Eyes returned to her.

Margaret would have freaked out by what she witnessed if she hadn’t seen Aveline go through so much. At the same time, she did want Aveline to stay optimistic and find love.

So she leaned in, lips curving with that cool elegance only she could wear so effortlessly. "A new interest?" she asked, tone deceptively casual.

Aveline didn’t meet her mother’s gaze. She didn’t need to. She lifted her glass instead and said, "Maybe."

The word hung like perfume in the air.

Across the table, Isabella had not blinked once since the moment Alaric stepped in with Aveline. What unsettled her even more was Margaret, looking entirely unfazed, as if nothing about their behavior had stirred her at all.

Jacob, the Vantex technician, rushed to Aveline and whispered with a pen drive in hand, "Ms. Laurent, the footage." He didn’t get to keep it on the table.

"Play the video on the screen. Make it slow and dramatic," Aveline instructed, and Jacob immediately left.

Henry and Charles returned to their seats once they learned Aveline had instructed Jacob.

The security footage began in eerie silence, focused tightly on six immaculate red diamonds on a spotless white velvet. The gems glistened under the lighting, their cuts so precise they almost seemed to breathe.

Suddenly, the screen filled with darkness.

For a beat, all was black, until the scene reignited in ghostly gray. The infrared security cameras had kicked in. Grainy shadows and outlines flickered to life. The diamonds remained in place, faint outlines shimmering. Then, movement.

A hand, gloved, steady, and deliberate, emerged from the lower left corner, moving smoothly toward the display.

The entire hall watched, holding their breath as the hand inched closer and closer...

Then... FZZZZT!

A razor-thin laser, triggered by proximity, sliced through the darkness. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

A sharp hiss, followed by a jarring shriek. The laser drilled into the hand with surgical precision. Blood erupted, spraying across the white velvet like an abstract painting in red.

Gasps erupted in the hall. Margaret covered her mouth with her hand.

One woman stifled a scream behind her hand. Someone else muttered, "God..."

The video froze for half a second, then the power returned. Lights flooded the screen.

And there, still untouched, the six diamonds radiated beneath the white glow. Their brilliance was surreal, cutting through the scene like beacons, untouched even as crimson droplets glistened at the base of the display.

A hush fell over the hall.

Then, someone exhaled audibly. Another murmured, "They weren’t kidding about the security."

A slow, impressed applause began from the back of the hall.

"What kind of tech is this?" A man whispered, awe replacing horror.

"The kind that protects not just jewelry," someone replied, "but legacy."

The admiration spread like fire through the crowd, shock turning to reverence as they realized Vantex hadn’t just guarded the diamonds, it had made a statement.

The Laurents were the first to rise from their chairs and applaud, turning to the man who built the Vantex.

Alaric: "..."

He was proud of his work, but as soon as the Laurents rose, everyone began standing one after the other.

He had given her the limelight at his event. And she gave it back to him when it wasn’t even necessary.

Now he wanted the power cut.

He nodded at the Laurents and pointed at their seats respectfully to have them seated so that everything would get back to normal.

While looking away, his gaze fell on his father, who looked proud as he nodded at him. He responded with a nod, but his eyes fell on his mother, who was smiling so brightly, her eyes sparkled with moisture, while she nodded at others who were congratulating her.

Was she happy for him?

But her reaction didn’t touch him as much as it should.

He had learned not to trust that shine in her eyes, because for every smile, there was always a shadow waiting to follow. A half-brother lurking to put him down. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The event resumed smoothly. After the introduction, everyone was enjoying drinks and food, discussing the auction pieces and the Vantex Sentinel.

Ezra arrived inside the hall. He whispered to Alaric, "Damien Ashford was behind the power cut. No solid proof."

Ezra hadn’t accompanied Alaric inside so that he could keep an eye on Damien, whose movements were suspicious. Yet, they failed to guess his plan.

"Where is he?" Alaric asked.

Before Ezra could respond, Alaric’s spine chilled hearing a voice, "Nina..."

Ezra straightened his back to step away, and Alaric failed to hold himself. He turned to see Damien at an arm’s length from Aveline.

"You promised to show me the red diamonds, remember?" Damien’s voice was gentle as if he was talking to his dear wife, as if nothing had changed.

Damien got no reaction from Aveline. She was neither surprised nor shocked, neither welcoming nor bothered.

He looked at the other three, whose faces were pretty much restrained. "Chairman Laurent, Mrs. Laurent. Charles." He greeted them.

The hall had fallen into uncomfortable silence, thus his voice sounded way too loud to reach many tables.

Charles began, "Director Ashford..." He said through his teeth.

Aveline cut in, "I should keep my promise." Her voice was deadly calm.

Alaric’s gaze snapped toward Aveline, without understanding why she was entertaining Damien.

He watched as Aveline stood up gracefully and walked toward the exhibit hall, without another word.

Damien followed her quietly, with mountains of expectations.

He stood beside her at Vantex, his presence far too casual.

The red diamonds gleamed under the soft lighting, their crimson brilliance casting eerie shadows against the glass.

"You always liked the rarest things," he said, voice dipped in honey, "But even these pale next to you, Nina." He turned to her.

Aveline’s spine straightened. She turned to him slowly, stiffly, like even the act of facing him was painful.

"Damien," her voice was quiet, deadly sharp, "don’t follow me again. I’m not your wife. And I’m certainly not someone you can lie to anymore. You ruined everything, and I’ve moved on."

The words hit him like a thunderclap. His breath caught mid-drawl, body recoiling as though struck. The confident ease on his face fractured instantly, and something feral flickered behind his eyes.

He inhaled, sharp and loud, his fingers twitching by his side. His voice, when it came, was barely restrained with disbelief and simmering rage.

"What are you talking about, Nina? We signed the divorce papers to keep you safe."

Aveline’s laughter wasn’t sweet. It was jagged, sharp enough to cut.

"I was protecting you," he added, clenching his fist tightly.

She laughed again, colder this time. "You really think I don’t know?"

Her eyes never left his, like ice locked onto fire. "You divorced me to protect Charlie Harmon. To cover up your mess. You needed to distance me before the storm hit. And... That lie!"

She snickered, "None of those so-called shareholders threatened to kill me. "

His jaw tensed. She could see it, the panic masked behind pride.

Aveline’s tone didn’t rise. It only got calmer. Which made it all the more terrifying.

"If you show up like this... if you so much as text me again, I’ll file a complaint. The attacks, the threats, they are all pointing in one direction. And guess who’ll be the prime suspect?"

She didn’t wait for a response. She turned on her heel with the same elegance she always had, only now it was cloaked in armor.

And Damien?

He was left standing in silence, surrounded by diamonds, but no longer able to touch what he once thought was his.