CHAPTER 2 — THE FACE UNDER THE VEIL
Ethan reached forward with shaking hands.
Sophia remained perfectly still.
Her smile never changed.
The applause slowly faded as he lifted the delicate veil inch by inch.
The moment the fabric fell...
Every sound disappeared.
Gasps echoed across the cathedral.
Several guests screamed.
An elderly woman collapsed onto the marble floor.
Sophia's face looked almost identical...
...except for one horrifying detail.
A long surgical scar stretched from behind her ear across her neck, carefully hidden beneath expensive makeup.
Her eyes were different.
Colder.
Empty.
Ethan stumbled backward.
"Who... are you?"
The bride smiled wider.
"I've been waiting for you to ask."
She slowly reached into the bouquet and pulled out a small silver key.
"You buried the wrong woman."
The cathedral doors suddenly burst open.
Rain poured outside as several police detectives rushed inside.
Behind them walked a pale young woman wearing a hospital robe.
Her face was bruised.
But Ethan recognized her instantly.
It was the real Sophia.
The crowd erupted into chaos.
The woman at the altar laughed.
"You finally found her..."
She calmly removed her wig, revealing shorter dark hair.
"My name isn't Sophia."
"It's Victoria."
"And I spent three years becoming the woman your enemies wanted you to marry."
Detectives surrounded the altar.
But before anyone could arrest her, Victoria dropped one final sentence that left everyone frozen.
"This wasn't about stealing your fortune."
She looked directly into Ethan's eyes.
"It was about making you discover who ordered the real Sophia to disappear..."
She pointed slowly toward the front row.
"...because the person who paid me..."
"...is sitting in this cathedral right now."
Every guest turned around.
May you like
One man quietly stood up...
...and smiled.
