Chapter 3 - The Mask Slips
The upper floor was deathly quiet. The heavy velvet carpeting muffled my footsteps as I moved methodically from door to door. Suite 401—empty. Suite 402—empty.
Then I heard it. A faint rustling sound coming from the master VIP suite at the very end of the hall—the exact suite reserved for the bride’s "family."
I didn’t knock. I slammed my shoulder against the heavy oak door, sending it crashing open against the interior wall.
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the courtyard was a tall man in a sharp, tailored charcoal suit. He turned slowly, a smug, arrogant smile plastered across his face. But the smile instantly vanished when he saw my empty, furious hands and the cold determination in my eyes.
“Well,” the man said smoothly, adjusting his cufflinks. “I take it the ceremony hit a slight snag?”
I stared at him, trying to place the face. He looked vaguely familiar, like a ghost from a past I had tried to forget. Then it clicked.
Marcus Sterling.
The name hit me like a physical blow. Marcus was a corporate acquisitions lawyer who had briefly tried to muscle into my tech firm three years ago before being exposed for embezzlement and blacklisted from the industry.
“Marcus,” I spat out, closing the distance between us with lethal speed. “You worm. You’re the one behind all of this.”
Marcus didn't flinch. Instead, he chuckled, pouring himself a glass of my finest scotch from the suite’s minibar. “Business is business, Ethan. You’ve got more money than god, and Amanda wanted a lifestyle upgrade. We simply combined our talents.”
“You conspired to steal my home, forge my documents, and emotionally manipulate my four-year-old daughter,” I growled, grabbing him by the lapels of his expensive suit and slamming him against the glass window. The glass rattled ominously beneath us.
Marcus didn't look scared; he looked amused. He glanced down at his watch. “You can play the angry hero all you want, Ethan. But check your phone. Right now.”
My pocket buzzed. With my free hand, I pulled out my personal phone. An automated alert notification flashed across the screen from my bank’s corporate security division.
May you like
URGENT: Unauthorized transfer attempt detected. $2.5 million pending clearance from corporate escrow account.
My breath caught. The wedding license wasn't just a marriage certificate; signing it as my legal spouse would have automatically granted Amanda power of attorney over my corporate assets under the prenuptial agreement amendments Marcus had secretly drafted.
