Chapter 2 - Locked in the Cathedral of LiesPanic rippled through the pitch-black cathedral like a shockwave. Screams echoed off the high vaulted ceilings as three hundred high-society guests realized the doors were sealed.
A single spotlight clicked on, illuminating the elevated pulpit above the altar.
Standing there was not a priest, nor security. It was a man in a tailored charcoal suit, his face obscured by the shadows, holding a master control tablet.
"Welcome to the unveiling of the Vance Empire," a deep, synthesized voice echoed through the sound system. "Please, remain seated. No one leaves until the entire ledger is settled."
Julian immediately stepped in front of me, throwing his arm back to shield me. "Liana, stay behind me," he growled under his breath. "This isn't just about the marriage. Someone compromised the entire security grid."
"Julian, what is happening?" I stammered, holding the crumpled letter tight against my chest. "Is this letter real? Am I... am I not a Vance?"
Before Julian could answer, Elena charged toward the pulpit, her bridal train sweeping through broken wine glasses. "Turn the lights back on, Marcus!" she screamed toward the shadowy figure above. "We had a deal! This wasn't part of the plan!"
Marcus.
The room collective gasped. Marcus Vance—my father’s estranged younger brother, who had vanished six years ago after being ousted from the family board for corporate espionage.
The spotlight shifted, fully illuminating Marcus's face. A jagged scar ran from his temple down to his jawline—a physical reminder of the car crash that had supposedly taken his life years ago.
"A deal, dear niece?" Marcus chuckled, his voice echoing with chilling delight. "Our deal was simple: you give me access to the vault keys hidden within your father's estate, and I let you play house with Julian. But you got greedy. You tried to erase Liana entirely."
Marcus pressed a button on his tablet. The huge display screens flickered back to life, but instead of the phone recording, a live document appeared. It was a land deed and a corporate structure map detailing the Vance global holdings.
At the very top, listed as the 100% sole owner of the Vance Trust, was one name: Liana Vance.
"Look at it, everyone!" Marcus announced, sweeping his arm across the hall. "The great Vance fortune wasn't left to the wife, nor was it left to the golden child, Elena. My late brother left every single asset—the banks, the shipping lines, the real estate—to Liana. But with one strict condition."
Marcus turned his cold, piercing gaze directly onto me.
"The condition was that Liana must marry the primary beneficiary of the Vance Security Group before her twenty-fifth birthday. And that beneficiary... is Julian."
I turned to Julian in utter shock. "You knew?"
"I didn't know about the money, Liana! I swear to God!" Julian grabbed my shoulders, his eyes desperate, shining with unshed tears. "I only knew that my father made me sign a contract when I was eighteen. I was told I was bound to 'the Vance daughter.' Your mother and Elena lied to me for four years! They made me believe Elena was the one specified in the contract. They told me you hated me!"
"Because she does hate you!" Elena screamed, rushing up the steps and pulling a small silver firearm from beneath the heavy layers of her wedding dress.
The crowd shrieked. People scrambled behind pews, diving for cover.
Elena pointed the gun directly at my chest, her hand trembling uncontrollably.
"You took everything from me since the day you were brought into this house!" Elena sobbed, her eyes wildly unhinged. "Dad looked at you like you were made of glass! Julian looked at you like you were the only girl in the world! I was the legitimate daughter, but I was invisible! I won't let you take this, Liana. If I can't have the fortune, and I can't have him... you won't leave this hall alive."
"Elena, put the gun down!" my mother shrieked from the aisle, raising her hands. "Don't do this!"
"Shut up, Mom!" Elena yelled back. "You helped me forge the documents! You helped me trick Julian! You're just as guilty as I am!"
"She didn't forge everything, Elena," Marcus's voice boomed softly over the speakers. "Show them the second page of the letter, Liana."
My hands shook as I reached into the envelope again. My fingers touched a second piece of paper I hadn't pulled out yet.
I unfolded it. The text was short, written in red ink.
My voice trembled as I read it out loud for the entire room to hear:
"If Elena ever attempts to claim the inheritance through force or deception, the secondary clause is activated immediately. Liana is not my daughter... she is my elder sister's child. And Elena... is not my daughter either."
Elena froze. The gun slowly lowered an inch. "What... what did you say?"
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"Read the rest, Liana," Marcus whispered cold-bloodedly.
"Elena was adopted from an orphanage in Prague to replace the child my wife lost at birth. Neither of you carry Vance blood. But only one of you holds the key to the vault."
