Chapter 3 - THE MAN ON THE BALCONY“TAKE YOUR HAND OFF MY DAUGHTER!”
Michael’s voice exploded through the ballroom.
Richard immediately released Lily.
Every guest stood frozen beneath the chandeliers as Michael rushed toward the staircase.
But Richard raised both hands.
“Michael, wait. This isn’t what it looks like.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“That sentence usually means it’s exactly what it looks like.”
Vanessa remained motionless.
Michael reached Lily and pulled her into his arms.
She buried her face against his chest.
“Daddy, please don’t marry her.”
Michael’s anger vanished.
He looked at his daughter.
“Why?”
Lily pointed toward Vanessa.
“She wants you dead.”
The ballroom erupted in whispers.
Vanessa finally moved.
She climbed several stairs.
“Michael, she’s frightened. Daniel has been putting ideas into her head.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“I found her before I knew anything.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“You found a crying child and decided to destroy your brother’s wedding.”
“No.”
Daniel removed the phone.
“I found evidence.”
Richard interrupted.
“A corrupted video proves nothing.”
Daniel turned slowly.
“I never said it was corrupted.”
Richard’s face changed.
The room became silent.
Michael noticed.
“So you knew about the video?”
Richard swallowed.
“I assumed—”
“You assumed because you were in it,” Daniel said.
Vanessa suddenly turned toward the exit.
Two security guards blocked her path.
Michael looked between his bride and financial adviser.
“Someone better tell me what’s happening.”
Lily lifted her head.
“I can.”
She explained everything.
Three nights earlier, she had returned to Michael’s home unexpectedly after forgetting her favorite stuffed rabbit. She heard Vanessa speaking inside Michael’s office with Richard.
Lily hid behind the door.
Then she started recording.
But there was something Daniel didn’t know.
“The video wasn’t the only thing,” Lily whispered.
Vanessa stopped breathing.
Daniel crouched beside her.
“What else?”
Lily reached beneath her veil.
Pinned inside the fabric was a tiny memory card.
“I took this from Daddy’s camera.”
Richard suddenly lunged forward.
Daniel tackled him before he reached Lily.
Both men crashed against the marble railing.
Guests screamed.
Security rushed upstairs.
Richard struggled violently.
“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!”
Daniel slammed him against the floor.
“Then explain it.”
Richard stopped fighting.
His eyes moved toward Vanessa.
And something unexpected appeared in them.
Not loyalty.
Fear.
“She planned everything,” Richard gasped.
Vanessa shouted.
“Shut up!”
Richard laughed desperately.
“You think she loves you, Michael? She doesn’t even love me.”
Michael stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Richard’s expression collapsed.
“We’ve been together for three years.”
The revelation hit the ballroom like an explosion.
Michael slowly looked at Vanessa.
His bride.
The woman he had trusted around his daughter.
The woman he almost married.
Vanessa’s face became expressionless.
Then she began applauding.
Slowly.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
“Congratulations,” she said.
“You figured out the affair.”
Daniel stared at her.
Vanessa smiled.
“But that was never the real secret.”
Police sirens sounded outside.
Her smile widened.
“Check the memory card.”
Michael looked at Lily.
Daniel removed the tiny card from her veil.
Vanessa tilted her head.
“Go ahead.”
For the first time, she appeared genuinely amused.
“Find out what your precious brother has been hiding from you for fifteen years.”
Daniel’s blood turned cold.
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Because Vanessa wasn’t looking at Michael.
She was looking directly at him.
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