CHAPTER 4 — THE WEDDING THAT NEVER EXISTED
The cathedral exploded into panic.
Guests rushed toward the exits while reporters shoved cameras over each other's shoulders. Detectives surrounded Richard Carter and Victoria, but neither of them looked frightened.
Instead...
...they smiled.
Ethan snatched the marriage certificate from Victoria's hands.
His heart pounded as he read every page.
The signatures looked authentic.
The official seal was real.
The fingerprints matched.
Everything said he had legally married Victoria three days earlier.
"That's impossible!" Ethan shouted. "I was in New York that day!"
Victoria tilted her head.
"Were you?"
She pulled out a tablet and tapped the screen.
A security video appeared.
It showed Ethan entering a private courthouse.
Signing documents.
Placing a ring on Victoria's finger.
Then kissing her.
Every guest gasped.
Even the detectives stared in disbelief.
Sophia grabbed Ethan's arm.
"No... that's fake."
"It has to be."
But then the lead detective received a phone call.
His expression changed instantly.
He looked directly at Ethan.
"Mr. Carter... we've just confirmed the courthouse recorded your biometric scan. According to government records..."
"...you really were there."
Ethan's knees nearly gave out.
"I've never seen this before."
Richard laughed quietly.
"You don't remember because you weren't supposed to."
The detective frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Richard folded his hands behind his back.
"Three nights ago, my son attended a charity gala."
"He drank exactly one glass of champagne."
"It contained an experimental memory-suppressing drug."
The entire cathedral fell silent.
Victoria stepped closer.
"For twelve hours, Ethan obeyed every instruction without remembering any of it afterward."
"We married."
"We transferred billions in assets."
"And when he woke up..."
"...he believed none of it had ever happened."
Sophia burst into tears.
"This is insane!"
Victoria slowly shook her head.
"No."
"This was only Phase One."
She reached into her bouquet one last time and removed a tiny black flash drive.
"You still think this was about money."
She smiled coldly.
"It wasn't."
"The moment this drive reaches the media..."
"...the Carter family won't just lose their fortune."
"They'll lose their name forever."
Before anyone could stop her, every phone inside the cathedral vibrated at exactly the same second.
One notification.
One headline.
One leaked video.
May you like
Ethan looked at the screen...
...and realized someone had just exposed a twenty-five-year-old family secret that was never supposed to leave the Carter mansion.
