My Wedding Dress Triggered the Fall of a Giant

Veronica's POV

“Listen, everyone. Sure, the dress itself might not be worth much money,” I said calmly, “but what it represents can’t be measured in cash.”

Yet, Hayden clearly didn’t grasp the weight of what I was saying.

“It’s just a damn dress,” he muttered, slowly walking toward me. “Why act like it means something?”

He then got closer, smirking, “Let me guess. You’re just trying to squeeze more money out of me, aren’t you? Go on, name your price. A hundred grand? A million?”

I held back the fury building inside me and locked eyes with him. “Mr. Cobb, do you seriously believe everything in this world can be solved with money?”

He raised an eyebrow arrogantly, not even trying to hide the mockery in his voice. “Doesn’t it?”

“Veronica,” he said, voice hardening, “maybe you forgot. This is New York, my family’s turf. You want to test me? I can make one call and erase you from this city.”

I clenched my fists and forced myself to stay composed, replying slowly and clearly, “Mr. Cobb, I just want to confirm. Was that a threat?”

Before he could answer, his secretary cut in with a snarl. “Damn right it was. What, you gonna cry about it?”

She then squared up to me. “Come on, tough girl. Hit me. I dare you.”

I turned to her with a cold, emotionless gaze. “Let me guess, you actually think being someone’s lapdog is something to be proud of, am I right?”

Embarassed, her face went beet red. She stammered, pointing at me, too flustered to come up with a comeback.

Seeing that, Hayden quickly stepped in, shielding her behind him. “Who the hell are you calling a lapdog? Gillian’s been with me since she graduated college. She’s practically family. And if you don’t apologize to her right now, I promise you’re not walking out of here.”

Funny how within just one hour, I received a threat twice in a row.

In all my years working in a top-secret government unit, I’d never even imagined something like this happening.

This time, I was done talking.

I pulled out my phone in front of everyone and calmly made a call.

“Hello, Boss? It’s Veronica.”

The voice on the other end brightened instantly. “Well, if it isn’t Veronica! What’s going on? You finally meet your future husband? You like what you see?”

I glanced at the man standing across from me and gave a cold chuckle. “Boss, it’s a long story. But I need to report something urgent. Someone threw away the wedding dress you had custom-made for me. Into a trash can. What did you say!?”

The shock in his voice nearly blew out the speaker.

“You better not be joking, Veronica. That dress had a Medal of Honor stitched into it!”

My blood was boiling now too.

“Boss, you think I’d joke about something like that? And the person who trashed the dress? Not only did she not apologize, she even threatened to kill me,” I added.

Then I gave him a rundown of everything that happened, and by the end of it, I heard glass shattering on his end of the call.

“Who was it?!” he asked, fuming.

Just as I was about to answer, the secretary snatched the phone from my hand.

“You're the so-called boss she keeps blabbing about?” she scoffed. “I’m Hayden’s personal secretary. If you’ve got a problem, take it up with me!”

My boss went silent for a few seconds, probably stunned that someone had the nerve to speak to him like that.

“So you’re the one who destroyed Veronica’s dress and then turned around and threatened her?” he asked.

Until now, she still didn’t realize who she was dealing with. She still stayed cocky as ever.

Veronica's POV

“Enough talk. Just tell me what you want!” Gillian barked.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” my boss replied calmly.

Even through the phone, I could feel the fire in his voice.

But clearly, the secretary didn’t expect him to be temperamental, and she fired back without missing a beat.

“Old man, you’ve been watching too many TV dramas, haven’t you?” she scoffed. “Let’s see who in this city actually dares to go up against the Cobb family.”

After that, she hung up the call and turned to Hayden with a smug little grin, clearly proud of herself, like she expected praise.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Mr. Cobb, you really know how to pick ‘em,” I said, smirking. “Even nationwide, I’ve never met someone quite as ‘fearless’ as your secretary.”

Not catching my sarcasm, Gillian scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Please. I don’t care who your so-called ‘boss’ is. As long as Mr. Cobb is in charge, the Cobbs isn’t going anywhere.”

I tilted my head slightly and gave a small smile. “Is that so? Then let me ask you. What if, after today, the Cobbs ceases to exist in this city?”

Right then, someone in the room suddenly shouted, “Look outside!”

Quickly, everyone rushed to the windows.

Outside, a long line of black Audi A6s, each bearing the elite "New York 1" license plate, was pulling up to the venue in a sleek and imposing convoy.