CHAPTER 2 – The Groom's Smile Hid a Death Sentence
The words echoed through the ballroom like thunder.
"Don't let them say 'I do!' That man has already buried two brides!"
For a moment...
No one moved.
The violinists stopped playing.
Champagne glasses froze halfway to waiting lips.
Even the photographers lowered their cameras.
Emily felt Alexander's grip tighten painfully around her arm.
His smile never disappeared.
But she could feel the anger pulsing beneath his calm expression.
He leaned closer without looking at her.
"Whatever happens next..."
"...you will not leave my side."
His voice was almost gentle.
Yet it sounded more terrifying than a scream.
The elderly man took another step inside the ballroom.
Rainwater dripped from his worn coat onto the polished marble floor.
Two security guards immediately blocked his path.
"Sir, you're trespassing."
The old man ignored them.
His eyes remained fixed on Emily.
"Miss Carter..."
"If you marry him today, you'll never see your father alive again."
Emily's heart skipped a beat.
"You know where my father is?"
The old man nodded slowly.
"I know who took him."
Alexander suddenly laughed.
A calm, confident laugh.
"This poor man has dementia."
He turned toward the guests with effortless charm.
"I apologize, everyone. He has been stalking my family for years."
Several guests nodded.
It sounded believable.
After all...
Alexander Blackwood was one of the country's most respected businessmen.
Who would believe an old stranger over him?
But Emily noticed something no one else did.
Alexander's thumb was pressing repeatedly against the inside of his watch.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
It wasn't random.
It was a signal.
Across the ballroom...
A man wearing a waiter uniform quietly touched the earpiece hidden beneath his hair.
Another "waiter" near the orchestra did the same.
Then another beside the dessert table.
Emily's stomach twisted.
They weren't waiters.
They were armed guards disguised as staff.
Every exit...
Every hallway...
Every staircase...
Had already been surrounded.
The guests thought they were attending the wedding of the year.
They had actually walked into a perfectly controlled cage.
Olivia Blackwood watched everything from across the room.
Her hands trembled.
She knew that signal.
Alexander only used it when he wanted someone...
...eliminated.
Without thinking, she slipped her phone from her purse and typed a single text message.
RUN. DON'T TRUST ANYONE.
She pressed send.
But the message never left.
NO SIGNAL.
She frowned.
The ballroom had full reception only minutes earlier.
Now...
Every phone showed the same warning.
No Service.
Someone had activated a signal jammer.
No one inside could call for help.
Meanwhile...
The old man reached into his coat.
Security immediately drew their weapons.
Several women screamed.
Alexander smiled.
"Careful."
"He might have a gun."
Instead...
The stranger slowly pulled out an old leather wallet.
Inside was a faded photograph.
He held it high enough for Emily to see.
It showed a young bride smiling beside Alexander.
The exact same woman from the anonymous photograph Emily had received two days earlier.
Only this picture revealed something new.
The bride was visibly pregnant.
Emily's blood ran cold.
Alexander had told her he had never been engaged.
Never married.
Never had children.
"So who is she?" Emily whispered.
The old man's eyes filled with sorrow.
"My daughter."
The ballroom erupted into whispers.
"My daughter, Victoria Hayes..."
"...became Alexander Blackwood's wife three years ago."
He paused.
"And eleven days later..."
"...she disappeared forever."
Alexander's face remained expressionless.
But his eyes...
Had become terrifyingly cold.
Then, in full view of hundreds of guests...
He slowly removed Emily's engagement ring from her trembling finger.
Everyone watched in confusion.
He smiled for the cameras.
Then whispered so quietly that only she could hear:
"Now you've forced me to move to Plan B."
Emily felt her heart stop.
"What does that mean?"
Alexander looked toward the ballroom entrance.
A black SUV had just pulled up outside.
The rear door opened.
Two masked men stepped out...
Dragging a blindfolded older man whose hands were tied behind his back.
Emily recognized the watch on his wrist instantly.
May you like
It belonged to her father.
End of Chapter 2...
