Chapter 1 - The Night the Wedding Ended
The wedding flowers were still fresh.
The champagne glasses were still sitting on the tables.
The guests were still laughing downstairs.
But upstairs…
The bride was begging for her life to change.
Arthur’s hand tightened around the wooden bat.
Julian stared at him without fear.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then Eleanor stepped between them.
“Arthur, stop.”
Her voice was shaking.
“Not because he deserves mercy.”
“Because I need answers.”
Arthur lowered the bat slightly.
His eyes never left Julian.
“You have one chance.”
“One.”
“Tell us what happened.”
Julian slowly stood up.
He adjusted his torn shirt like he was still the powerful man everyone admired.
“You all think she is innocent.”
A bitter laugh escaped his mouth.
“But you don’t know your precious Elara.”
Elara looked up in disbelief.
“What are you talking about?”
Julian looked directly at her.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Her face turned pale.
“No.”
“No, Julian.”
“Don’t do this.”
Arthur noticed the fear in her voice.
Not anger.
Not guilt.
Fear.
“What secret is he talking about?”
Elara looked away.
And that silence scared everyone more than any answer.
Julian smiled.
“There it is.”
“The truth.”
Eleanor stepped closer.
“Elara…”
“What is he hiding?”
Before Elara could answer…
The lights suddenly went out.
The entire bridal suite fell into darkness.
A few seconds later, a phone screen lit up near the bed.
A video started playing automatically.
Everyone froze.
Because the person on the screen…
Was Elara.
But the recording was from three months earlier.
And the words coming from her mouth changed everything.
“I will destroy Julian Blackwood.”
Arthur’s heart stopped.
The video continued.
“I will make him lose everything.”
The screen went black.
Nobody spoke.
Then Julian whispered:
“Now you understand why I did what I did.”
Elara’s eyes filled with tears.
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Because the truth was much more complicated than anyone imagined.
And the next secret would destroy the entire family.
