Chapter 13 - The Bride’s Second Gift
The agents didn’t immediately handcuff Julian.
That somehow made it worse.
They separated him from the guests.
Asked him to step into a private room.
Julian refused.
“I’m an attorney.”
One agent nodded.
“Then you understand why arguing in front of two hundred witnesses is probably unwise.”
Martin Keller nearly smiled.
Julian looked around the ballroom.
Friends avoided his eyes.
Partners whispered urgently.
Phones appeared everywhere.
The perfect wedding had turned into a crime scene without anyone needing to string yellow tape.
Then Julian looked at Noah.
“This is because of you.”
I moved toward him.
“No.”
Julian pointed at our son.
“He stole private information.”
“He found something you hid in his belongings.”
“He destroyed my life!”
Noah flinched.
That was enough.
I stepped inches from Julian.
“You do not put this on him.”
His eyes locked on mine.
“You wanted revenge.”
“No.”
“You hated me.”
“For a while.”
“You turned my son against me.”
“No, Julian.”
My voice stayed calm.
“That was the one thing you managed entirely by yourself.”
He looked as if I had slapped him.
One agent guided him away.
Victoria stood near the cake.
Still wearing white.
Still technically his wife.
I walked over.
“Why did you marry him?”
She looked down at her ring.
“Because of the prenuptial agreement.”
“What?”
“He insisted I sign one.”
“That sounds like Julian.”
“It required full financial disclosure from both parties before marriage.”
I stared.
Victoria almost laughed.
“He lied on it.”
Of course he did.
“Investigators wanted a clean sworn financial statement made after he knew questions were being asked.”
“So you let him sign it.”
“Yes.”
“And then married him.”
“For eleven minutes.”
She removed her ring.
“I filed an annulment petition electronically during cocktail hour.”
I couldn’t help it.
I laughed.
For the first time that night, it was real.
Across the room, Martin Keller was on the phone.
His firm’s crisis was only beginning.
By midnight, Julian had been taken for questioning.
Greg Holt was also detained.
Search warrants were being executed at two offices and Julian’s penthouse.
The wedding guests left in clusters.
Nobody talked about flowers anymore.
Nobody cared about the cake.
Noah and I walked toward the parking lot.
“Mom?”
“Yeah?”
“Did I ruin Dad’s wedding?”
I stopped.
“No.”
“But—”
“Your father’s choices ruined his wedding.”
He looked down.
“I still feel bad.”
“I know.”
“That’s stupid.”
“No.”
I crouched in front of him.
“It means you still have a heart.”
He hugged me.
Then Melissa called.
“Rachel, don’t go home.”
My body tensed.
“Why?”
“Police are there.”
“What happened?”
“They found someone inside.”
“Who?”
“A man connected to Greg Holt.”
My blood ran cold.
“Why was he in my house?”
Melissa hesitated.
“Rachel…”
“What?”
“He was looking for the original USB.”
May you like
I looked at Noah.
And suddenly the wedding no longer felt like the dangerous part.
