Chapter 1 - THE CALL BEHIND THE CHAPEL
Three minutes before he was supposed to marry Olivia Mercer, Daniel Bennett heard his bride say she had never loved him.
He stood motionless outside the private bridal suite of the Blackwood Estate, one hand still resting on the polished brass doorknob.
Inside, Olivia was speaking softly into her phone.
Her voice carried through the door she had failed to close completely.
“Once Daniel signs the marriage certificate, the Bennett trust becomes accessible to his spouse.”
Daniel’s fingers tightened around the handle.
A man answered through the speakerphone, but Daniel could not make out every word.
Olivia laughed under her breath.
“No, he doesn’t suspect anything.”
She paused as someone adjusted the train of her wedding gown.
“He thinks I’m nervous because I love him.”
Daniel felt something cold move through his chest.
Only that morning, Olivia had sent him a handwritten note promising that she could not wait to become his wife.
He had carried it in the inside pocket of his tuxedo like a sacred thing.
Now she sounded like a stranger.
“After the honeymoon, I’ll convince him to sign the medical authorization.”
Her voice became sharper.
“Then we begin documenting his instability.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
“The medication will handle the rest.”
A second woman murmured something inside the room.
Olivia lowered her voice.
“If everything goes according to plan, Daniel will be declared incompetent before Christmas.”
Daniel’s vision blurred.
“And once I control the trust, you’ll receive your share.”
Footsteps moved toward the door.
Daniel stepped back, but it was too late.
The door opened.
Olivia appeared in an ivory gown covered in hand-sewn pearls.
For one second, she smiled.
Then she saw Daniel’s face.
The phone slipped slightly in her hand.
Behind her, the maid of honor froze beside the mirror.
Daniel looked directly into Olivia’s eyes.
“How long have you been planning to destroy me?”
The color vanished from her face.
“Daniel, I can explain.”
The wedding music began in the chapel.
Two hundred guests rose from their seats.
Olivia quickly ended the call.
“You misunderstood what you heard.”
“I heard enough.”
She reached for him, but Daniel stepped away.
“Who was on the phone?”
Olivia’s eyes flickered toward the maid of honor.
“No one.”
Daniel gave a hollow laugh.
“You were discussing drugging me, taking control of my family trust, and having me declared mentally incompetent.”
The maid of honor quietly moved toward the hallway.
Daniel blocked her path.
“Neither of you is leaving.”
Olivia’s expression changed.
The fear disappeared.
Something colder replaced it.
“You’re going to walk into that chapel,” she whispered.
Daniel stared at her.
May you like
“And why would I do that?”
“Because if you don’t, your younger sister goes to prison.”
