Chapter 4 - THE GROOM WASN'T SAVING HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW—HE WAS THE ONE WHO HIRED THE HITMAN!
The revelation exploded like a bomb inside the ballroom. The atmosphere shifted from a financial disgrace to a high-stakes criminal crime scene.
"No... no, that's impossible!" Julian shrieked, backing toward the high glass windows of the ballroom. "Maya was an orphan! She had no family! She was just a nobody who worked her way up from the mailroom! She wasn't your daughter!"
"She was stolen from me twenty-two years ago when my rival syndicate targeted my family!" Eleanor roared, her voice trembling with decades of suppressed pain and rage. "I searched the entire world for her! When she finally entered my company under her own merit, I didn't even know it was her—until the day she vanished after that tragic accident!"
Maya dropped her tray. The silver platter hit the floor with a deafening clash. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Eleanor, memory fragments flashing violently through her head—a mother’s warm voice, a song, and the silver locket around her neck.
"Mother?" Maya whispered, stepping forward.
"Maya, stay back!" Julian suddenly yelled, panicking entirely. He pulled a concealed, sleek black pocket knife from his inner tuxedo jacket and grabbed Maya from behind, pulling her against him and holding the blade against her neck.
The entire room screamed. Guests scrambled for the exits, throwing chairs over in a mad panic to escape.
"Nobody move!" Julian screamed, his eyes wild with desperation. "I'm not going to prison for the rest of my life! Eleanor, you sign the transfer of the holding assets to an offshore account right now, or your precious lost daughter dies right here!"
Victoria and Chloe backed away, horrified by Julian’s sudden descent into madness.
"Julian, stop!" Chloe yelled, terrified that she would be named an accomplice to murder. "Put the knife down!"
"Shut up, you greedy witch!" Julian spat at Chloe. "You were in on it from day one! You gave me the money to pay off the driver because you wanted me to become Chief Executive so you could live like a queen!"
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Eleanor did not flinch. She did not scream. She took one slow, deliberate step forward, her eyes locked dead on Julian.
"You made two fatal mistakes today, Julian," Eleanor said with deadly calm. "First, you laid hands on my daughter. Second... you assumed I came here alone."
