Chapter 13 — The Crime Hidden Under The Wedding Dress
The ballroom doors remained open.
The police officers stood silently.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone was trying to understand the same thing.
A wedding had become a crime scene.
And the bride standing in the center of it all was no longer a future Mrs. Hayes.
She was a suspect.
Victoria stared at the officer.
Then she laughed.
A small, nervous laugh.
"You have the wrong person."
The officer didn't react.
"We have evidence."
Victoria looked around the room.
At the guests.
At Daniel.
At Emily.
Then she smiled.
Because even now...
even after everything...
she still believed she could control the story.
"You really think I killed Thomas Carter?"
The officer opened a folder.
"We have witnesses."
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
The officer looked toward the back of the room.
Everyone followed his gaze.
An elderly woman stood there.
Emily froze.
She knew that face.
She had seen it before.
In old family photos.
Her father's closest friend.
Margaret Wilson.
The woman who disappeared after Thomas Carter's death.
Emily whispered:
"Mrs. Wilson..."
The old woman stepped forward.
"I saw everything."
Victoria's confidence disappeared.
For the first time...
she looked genuinely powerless.
Margaret's hands shook as she spoke.
"Fifteen years ago, Thomas Carter discovered the financial crimes inside Hayes Industries."
Everyone listened.
"He wanted to expose them."
She looked at Richard.
"Your family tried to stop him."
Richard closed his eyes.
"I never wanted him dead."
Margaret nodded.
"I know."
The room went quiet.
"Because you weren't the one who ordered it."
Everyone turned.
Margaret looked directly at Victoria.
"It was your father."
Victoria's face went pale.
"No."
Margaret continued.
"He hired someone to scare Thomas."
Emily felt sick.
"Scare him?"
Margaret nodded sadly.
"But it went too far."
Silence.
Victoria shook her head.
"My father didn't..."
Then she stopped.
Because she knew.
Everyone saw it.
That tiny moment.
That hesitation.
Emily watched her carefully.
Victoria wasn't shocked.
She was remembering.
The officer stepped forward.
"We found payment records connecting your father to the crime."
Victoria laughed bitterly.
"My father is dead."
The officer nodded.
"But his records survived."
Then Daniel spoke.
"Why?"
Everyone looked at him.
Victoria stared.
Daniel's voice was broken.
"Why did you choose me?"
For the first time...
Victoria looked at Daniel differently.
Not like a target.
Not like a tool.
Like a person.
And Emily almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
Victoria whispered:
"Because you were the son of the man who destroyed my family."
Daniel looked hurt.
"So none of it was real?"
A long pause.
Then Victoria answered:
"No."
One word.
The most painful word she could have said.
Daniel looked away.
And something inside him broke.
The officer moved toward Victoria.
But before she was taken away...
she looked at Emily.
"You think you won."
Emily said nothing.
Victoria smiled.
"But you don't know the whole truth."
Emily froze.
"What?"
Victoria leaned closer.
"Ask your mother why she really disappeared fifteen years ago."
Then she was taken away.
And Emily was left standing there.
May you like
With one question.
What else had her mother hidden?
