Chapter 2: The Wedding That Never Happened
Chapter 2: The Wedding That Never Happened
Elaine's voice was calm.
"The forensic team finished reviewing the security archive."
I kept my eyes on Victoria.
Elaine continued.
"They recovered six months of deleted footage. Whoever tried to erase those files failed."
Victoria's face lost what little color remained.
"What?" she whispered.
Elaine didn't stop.
"And Daniel... there is another problem. Someone attempted to access your investment accounts three separate times using credentials linked to Victoria's devices."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
I ended the call without another word.
Victoria laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because panic often disguises itself as confidence.
"Daniel, this is insane. You can't possibly believe some computer report over the woman you've loved for two years."
I slowly closed the laptop.
"No."
Her eyes brightened for half a second.
"I believe six months of video."
That hope disappeared.
She stepped closer.
"I was under stress."
I said nothing.
"Maria was incompetent."
Nothing.
"I never actually hurt her."
I reached into Elaine's folder and placed several printed photographs across the desk.
One showed her twisting Maria's wrist so hard the older woman nearly collapsed.
Another showed her shoving a cleaning cart into Maria while looking directly into the security camera she thought wasn't recording.
A third captured Sophia crying behind the pantry door while Victoria pointed a finger inches from Maria's face.
Each picture carried an exact timestamp.
An exact date.
An exact truth.
Victoria stared at them.
Then she did something I never expected.
She smiled.
Cold.
Calculating.
"If you cancel this wedding," she said quietly, "people will destroy your reputation."
I leaned back.
"Will they?"
"My family knows senators."
Silence.
"I've already spoken to reporters."
Silence.
"I have interviews scheduled after the wedding."
Still silence.
"They'll believe I escaped an abusive billionaire."
Finally I spoke.
"You already prepared that story?"
She didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Her expression said everything.
The engagement had never been about love.
It had been a business acquisition.
And I had been the asset.
At eight-thirty that night, Elaine arrived at the mansion with two investigators.
They spread documents across the conference table.
Phone records.
Financial requests.
Deleted emails.
Recovered text messages.
One conversation froze the room.
Victoria had written to someone named Ethan.
Wedding first. Signature second. Divorce later. Half the estate is worth waiting a year.
Elaine quietly slid another page toward me.
"The timestamp was five months ago."
Five months.
While she was tasting wedding cakes.
Choosing honeymoon resorts.
Telling me she couldn't wait to become my wife.
Every kiss suddenly felt rehearsed.
Every smile.
Every promise.
A performance.
The front gate buzzer interrupted us.
Security called upstairs.
"Sir... Victoria's parents are here."
Victoria immediately stood.
"Good. They'll explain this misunderstanding."
I nodded.
"Let them in."
Ten minutes later Richard and Caroline entered my home wearing expensive clothes and practiced smiles.
Richard didn't ask what happened.
He extended his hand.
"I'm sure this is all some unfortunate confusion."
Elaine calmly handed him a folder.
He skimmed the first few pages.
His smile vanished.
Caroline grabbed the papers.
Her face hardened.
Then she looked at her daughter.
"Victoria..."
Victoria interrupted.
"Don't start."
Caroline whispered something that shocked everyone.
"Did you use the backup plan?"
The room froze.
Elaine looked up.
"So there was a backup plan?"
Richard immediately cut in.
"My wife doesn't know what she's talking about."
Too late.
Elaine had already written the sentence down.
By midnight, the investigators recovered another piece of evidence.
Not from my cameras.
From Victoria's own cloud account.
She had forgotten to disable automatic backups.
Thousands of files appeared.
Photos.
Voice notes.
Messages.
One video stood out.
Victoria was sitting with two bridesmaids during a private dinner.
She lifted a champagne glass and laughed.
"By next Christmas, the mansion will legally belong to me."
One bridesmaid looked nervous.
"What if Daniel finds out?"
Victoria smirked.
"He won't."
She took another sip.
"Men like him always believe beautiful women."
The room became painfully quiet.
Even her father lowered his head.
At one o'clock in the morning, I removed the engagement ring from my finger.
I placed it gently on the table.
Victoria stared at it.
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"You can't do this."
"I already did."
"You love me."
"I loved someone who never existed."
She reached for my hand.
I stepped back.
Security officers entered the room.
I looked at the head of security.
"Escort Miss Collins to the guest suite."
Victoria blinked.
"You mean my bedroom."
"No."
"Tomorrow morning, your belongings will be packed."
"You can't throw me out!"
"I can."
"You'll regret this."
I looked directly into her eyes.
"The only thing I regret... is not believing Maria sooner."
For the first time all night...
Victoria cried.
Not because she felt guilty.
Because she realized the future she had carefully built had collapsed in a single evening.
As security escorted her upstairs, she suddenly turned back.
"You think you've won?"
Her voice echoed through the marble hallway.
"This isn't over, Daniel."
Before I could answer, Elaine's phone vibrated.
She read the screen.
Then slowly looked up at me.
"There is something you need to see."
"What is it?"
Elaine placed her tablet on the table.
A fresh notification had just arrived from the bank's fraud department.
Someone had attempted to transfer $18.7 million from one of my private trust accounts...
Exactly nine minutes earlier.
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And according to the bank's digital records...
The authorization request had originated from inside my mansion.
