CHAPTER 3 — THE DAUGHTER WHO RETURNED FROM THE DEAD
The words echoed through the ballroom like thunder.
"They stole my kidney too."
For three long seconds...
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Even the orchestra members stood frozen, their instruments hanging uselessly in their hands.
Victoria's father, Richard Ashford, laughed nervously.
"This is ridiculous. She's clearly confused."
But the young woman in the hospital gown didn't look confused.
She looked exhausted.
Her skin was pale.
Dark circles surrounded her eyes.
A fresh surgical scar disappeared beneath the collar of her hospital gown.
She wasn't acting.
She had survived something no daughter should ever endure.
Margaret ran toward her.
"Sophia!"
Mother and daughter embraced, both shaking uncontrollably.
"I thought I'd lost you..."
Sophia buried her face in Margaret's shoulder.
"They told me you were dead."
Margaret gasped.
"What?"
Sophia nodded through tears.
"A man came to the hospital six months ago."
"He said you had died in a car accident."
"He told me to sign some medical papers before your funeral."
Her voice broke.
"I trusted him."
Ethan's expression darkened.
"What papers?"
Sophia slowly reached into the pocket of her hospital gown.
"I stole these before I escaped."
She handed Ethan a thin envelope stained with dried blood.
Inside...
There were hospital consent forms.
Insurance records.
Bank transfers.
And one confidential document.
At the bottom...
One signature.
Richard Ashford.
The ballroom exploded with whispers.
Victoria grabbed the papers.
"This has to be fake!"
Ethan calmly took them back.
"No."
He stared directly into Richard's eyes.
"It's authentic."
Richard's face lost every trace of confidence.
"You're making a terrible mistake."
Ethan ignored him.
Instead...
He pulled out his phone.
"Bring them in."
The ballroom doors opened again.
This time...
Six men in black suits entered.
Not bodyguards.
Forensic investigators.
Behind them came officers from the Financial Crimes Division.
The lead investigator spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"Richard Ashford..."
"You are under investigation for medical fraud..."
"...identity theft..."
"...insurance fraud..."
"...and illegal organ trafficking."
The room erupted into chaos.
Victoria screamed.
"This is impossible!"
"My father would never—"
Sophia interrupted her.
"He didn't do it alone."
Silence returned.
Sophia slowly pointed across the ballroom.
Not at Richard.
Not at Ethan.
Not at any guest.
She pointed...
At the groom.
Daniel.
His face instantly turned white.
Victoria stared at him.
"No..."
Daniel couldn't meet her eyes.
"I wanted to tell you."
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"I tried so many times."
Victoria stepped backward.
"What are you talking about?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"The Ashford family isn't as rich as everyone thinks."
"The company went bankrupt two years ago."
Every guest gasped.
Richard shouted,
"Shut your mouth!"
But Daniel continued.
"This wedding..."
"...was never about love."
He looked at Ethan.
"It was designed to trap Blackwood Group into a merger."
Victoria's bouquet slipped from her hands.
The white roses scattered across the marble floor.
Everything she believed...
Everything she had built her life around...
Collapsed in seconds.
Then Ethan noticed something strange.
Sophia suddenly grabbed her side.
Blood slowly seeped through her bandages.
She collapsed.
"Doctor!"
Guests rushed away in panic.
Margaret screamed for help.
Ethan caught Sophia before she hit the floor.
She looked into his eyes.
Barely conscious.
"There wasn't just one girl..."
"They're still holding..."
"...the others."
"What others?" Ethan demanded.
Sophia struggled to breathe.
"The girls..."
"...whose names were erased..."
"...to save rich people's children."
Her heartbeat monitor, still attached beneath her hospital gown, suddenly emitted one long...
Continuous...
Piercing tone.
BEEEEEEEEEEP.
Margaret let out a heartbreaking scream.
The ballroom fell into complete silence.
But before anyone could process what had happened...
A text message appeared on Ethan's phone.
Unknown Number.
He opened it.
His blood ran cold.
The message contained only one sentence...
"If you want to save the remaining children... come alone."
Beneath the message...
Was a photo.
A dark underground room.
Seven frightened children.
And one familiar face standing behind them...
Someone Ethan had buried...
May you like
Ten years ago.
END OF CHAPTER 3...
