CHAPTER 8 — "The Letter Hidden Inside My Wedding Dress Exposed the Final Piece of My Father-in-Law's Secret."
"What do you mean, a distraction?" I asked.
Victor took a slow breath.
"The company's digital archive has been breached."
"The intruder copied thousands of confidential files."
Board contracts.
International investments.
Private ownership records.
Confidential client information.
Years of corporate secrets.
The stolen data was worth far more than fifty million dollars.
One director whispered,
"This could destroy the company."
Before anyone could speak again, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
I answered cautiously.
No one spoke.
Only slow breathing.
Then a woman's voice.
Soft.
Calm.
Almost amused.
"Congratulations, Chairwoman."
I immediately recognized it.
Claire.
"You'll never find me," she said.
"You were never the prize."
"What do you want?"
She laughed quietly.
"You'll understand after you check your wedding dress."
The call disconnected.
Everyone looked at me.
"My wedding dress?"
Confused, I hurried upstairs to the bridal suite where I'd changed after the reception.
The gown still hung inside its protective garment bag.
As I carefully lifted it down, something felt different.
The lining near the waist was thicker than I remembered.
I gently reached inside.
My fingers touched paper.
Hidden between two layers of fabric was a sealed envelope.
Across the front, in elegant handwriting, were seven simple words:
"For Emily. Open only after the wedding."
The signature made my heart stop.
It belonged to Daniel's late grandfather.
With trembling hands, I broke the seal.
Inside was another letter.
And a tiny brass key attached to a faded blue ribbon.
The letter began:
"Emily, if this message has reached you, then I was right to trust your parents. Someone inside this family has been planning this betrayal for decades."
Every person in the room listened in silence as I continued reading aloud.
"Claire Benson was never acting alone."
Gasps filled the room.
The next sentence was even worse.
"The person leading her has remained beside our family from the very beginning."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Who?"
I turned the page.
My hands started shaking.
There was only one name written there.
I stared at it in disbelief.
Victor quietly asked,
"Emily..."
"Who is it?"
I couldn't speak.
Because the name on the page belonged to someone standing inside the mansion...
Someone who had comforted us all night.
Someone everyone believed was completely innocent.
May you like
And as I slowly lifted my eyes from the letter...
That person was already gone.
