Tony Stark-Im

New York. 2009.

I didn't run after that money. I didn't dream of being popular. I dreamed of being myself—who I was before the world knew my name. Those camera flashes... It's fun to smile into the cameras and then see myself stretched out across the front page of the newspapers. But is this what I was made for? Is this why my parents left me millions in accounts and four businesses? No. And is it only because of them? It's not their fault that they didn't listen to me that day.

I told them:

"Why are you flying away? Stay with me."

It was my birthday. But they had to leave immediately. Even as a child, I understood this, but fate decreed otherwise. Now I have everything: a beautiful house, an empire, power. But does everyone want that? Sometimes the silence in an empty penthouse is louder than any explosion.

Event: "Stark Foundation Gala Dinner"

Tonight's event isn't just a charity event. It's a private screening, where the cream of New York society has gathered under one roof for one man. Here, in this marble and chrome room, the scent of expensive perfume, the ozone of holographic projections, and inevitability fills the air. Tony Stark never misses his parties. He's the heart of this city, its pulse, and its curse. But for now, he's just a name on the guest list, a ghost whose presence is felt in every glance.

I stood in the center of this whirlpool, feeling like a frame that someone had stretched out in slow motion. A fluffy cream-colored fur coat hugged my shoulders, hiding all of this cold New York behind me. Underneath, a simple, fitted, turtleneck T-shirt—the perfect backdrop for everything else to shine even more.