Chapter 2 - Sins of the Fathers
The entire cathedral gasped in unison. The drama was spiraling out of control, shifting from a romantic betrayal into a dark, tangled web of elite corruption.
Victoria stopped dead in her tracks, her bridal veil torn and dragging behind her. She turned to her father. "What is she talking about, Dad? What truth?"
Richard Montgomery’s stoic face cracked for the first time. A flicker of genuine panic flashed across his eyes. "Don't listen to this crazy woman, Victoria. She’s trying to deflect from what her scumbag son did."
"Am I?" Daniel’s mother, Evelyn, scoffed, stepping over the fallen flower arrangements. She pulled a worn, yellowed photograph from her designer handbag and tossed it at Victoria’s feet. "Look at it, Victoria! Look at who your father was doing business with twenty years ago!"
Victoria bent down and picked up the photograph. It showed a young Richard Montgomery standing next to another man outside a burning factory. The second man’s face was scratched out, but the watch on his wrist was unmistakable—it bore the crest of the Vance family.
Julian, the stranger who had backed up Clara, narrowed his eyes. "That's my father's watch."
"Exactly, Julian!" Evelyn shouted. "Twenty years ago, Richard Montgomery didn't build his empire on genius investments. He burned down Vance Logistics, blamed it on Julian's father, drove him to suicide, and stole the insurance payout to launch Montgomery Global!"
The guests were murmuring wildly now. The live stream comments were exploding with hundreds of thousands of views per minute.
Evelyn turned to Victoria with a wicked, triumphant smile. "Daniel didn't come into your life by accident, sweetie. He was sent to ruin you. He was sent to take back every single penny your father stole from the Vance and Miller families. Daniel is Clara’s husband... and Julian’s step-brother!"
Victoria felt the air leave her lungs. She looked at Daniel, who had stopped cowering. The frantic, desperate expression on Daniel's face had vanished, replaced by a cold, arrogant smirk. He straightened his collar and wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead.
"Surprise, darling," Daniel whispered, his voice dripping with venom. "Did you really think a man like me would actually fall in love with a spoiled, clueless rich girl like you?"
Victoria felt like she had been shot through the heart. The entire marriage... her whole life for the past four years... was a calculated revenge plot.
"You... you never loved me?" Victoria choked out.
"Never for a single second," Daniel sneered. "Every kiss, every date, every 'I love you' was just work. And as of midnight last night, the power of attorney document you signed for our 'pre-nuptial housing agreement' went into effect. I don't just own your trust fund, Victoria. As of today, I own controlling shares in Montgomery Global."
Richard charged forward, his face red with rage. "You little bastard! I'll kill you!"
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"Touch him and you go to prison for the rest of your life, Mr. Montgomery," Julian interrupted calmly, pulling a silver badge from his pocket. "Because I'm not just a private investigator. I'm a Federal Agent with the Financial Crimes Division. And this entire wedding was a sting operation."
Cliffhanger: Federal agents surrounded the cathedral, but the real mastermind hadn't stepped forward yet.
