Chapter 2 - The Shadow of the Past
The bride, Victoria, stared at the faded photograph in Ethan’s hand, her chest heaving as all color drained from her face.
"That's absurd!" Victoria shouted, her voice high and strained as she looked around at her wealthy parents seated in the front row. "Ethan, you're delusional! My family is one of the most respected real estate developers in the state! We don't even know who your father was!"
"You know exactly who he was, Victoria," Ethan’s mother, Mary, said quietly, stepping forward despite her body trembling from the physical shock of the slap. "Twenty years ago, my husband, Arthur Vance, was the chief inspector for the city building authority. He refused to sign off on your father's commercial complex because the foundation was unsafe."
The ballroom grew eerily silent. Victoria’s father, Richard Sterling, stood up abruptly from his golden chiavari chair, his face turning an angry shade of crimson.
"That's enough of this slander!" Richard boomed, buttoning his expensive suit jacket. "Security, escort this crazy woman out of my daughter's wedding immediately!"
Before the venue guards could take a single step toward Mary, Ethan stepped in front of his mother like an impenetrable shield. He held up his hand, displaying the official badge of an investigator from the state attorney general’s special crimes unit.
"No one touches my mother," Ethan declared, his eyes burning with absolute focus. "I spent the last seven years working my way into law enforcement specifically to investigate my father's suspicious fatal hit-and-run in 2006. And today, the final piece of evidence walked right into this room."
Victoria grabbed Ethan’s arm, her voice desperate and manic. "Ethan, look at me! We were supposed to exchange vows today! I love you! Don't let your mother's bitter fantasies destroy our future!"
May you like
Ethan looked down at her hand on his sleeve, his expression completely cold.
👉 Read Part 3 to learn how Ethan first met Victoria and why she targeted him.
