Chapter 8 - THE GROOM WHO LOOKED GUILTY
Daniel struggled to remain standing.
The drug moved quickly through his system.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Senator Mercer knelt beside Olivia.
“Did he hurt you?”
Olivia nodded.
“He’s been acting strangely all day.”
Daniel looked around the ballroom.
Faces that had been smiling moments earlier now showed fear.
Margaret Bennett pushed through the crowd.
“My son would never attack her.”
Olivia’s maid of honor stepped forward.
“I heard him threaten her before the ceremony.”
Daniel recognized the trap.
The phone call.
The recording device.
The staged fall.
The contaminated drink.
Every piece had been prepared.
“I didn’t touch her,” Daniel said.
His voice sounded distant.
One of the guards reached for him.
Daniel pushed the man’s hand away.
Several guests gasped.
The guard seized Daniel’s arm.
Daniel reacted instinctively and twisted free.
That single movement was enough.
Phones rose throughout the ballroom.
Guests began recording.
Olivia started crying.
“Please don’t hurt anyone else.”
Daniel looked toward Noah.
“Get Emma out.”
The guards moved between them.
Noah grabbed Emma’s hand and pulled her toward a side exit.
Senator Mercer shouted for someone to call an ambulance.
Daniel tried to follow, but his legs weakened.
He gripped the edge of a table.
Wine glasses toppled.
Olivia crawled backward as though terrified.
“Stay away from me.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You planned all of this.”
She trembled for the cameras.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You drugged me.”
The senator stood.
“My daughter has done nothing but love you.”
Daniel laughed once.
It sounded harsh and uncontrolled.
The guests recoiled.
He knew how he appeared.
Sweating.
Unsteady.
Angry.
Exactly as Olivia had predicted.
Two paramedics entered the ballroom with another security officer.
Daniel’s mother tried to reach him.
A guard held her back.
“Don’t let them take me,” Daniel said.
Margaret’s face filled with fear.
The paramedics approached.
One of them prepared a syringe.
Daniel stepped away.
“What is that?”
“It will help you calm down.”
“No.”
Olivia spoke gently.
“Daniel, please cooperate.”
He looked at her white gown.
She had torn one sleeve and smeared blood across the fabric.
He did not know where the blood had come from.
It made the scene look even worse.
The paramedic caught his arm.
Daniel fought to pull free.
A needle entered his shoulder.
The ballroom tilted.
The last thing he saw was Olivia standing over him.
Her tears had stopped.
May you like
Her mouth formed four silent words.
The trust is mine now.
