Chapter 5

Three days after Garrett's pathetic exit came the city's most anticipated event of the year: the Annual Youth Debutante Charity Gala.

The Vance family had spent months prepping for tonight.

Evelyn and Richard maxed out their last two credit cards to rent a stretch limo for Yael, even buying out half a page in the local newspaper to hype her up as an "Up-and-Coming Modern Debutante."

They believed that as long as Yael made high-society connections tonight, the Vances could naturally climb into real elite circles and escape their crumbling middle-class financial crisis.

On the night of the gala, the…