Chapter 3: A Wedding Built on Lies
Chapter 3: A Wedding Built on Lies
Victor tried to leave.
Two security guards blocked the ballroom doors.
Julian looked directly at his father.
"You told me Elena's parents died in a car accident."
Victor remained silent.
Elena's hands trembled.
"My parents..."
Victor slowly removed his glasses.
"They didn't die in an accident."
The room became impossibly quiet.
"Twenty years ago," he admitted, "I financed a company that was secretly transporting dangerous chemicals."
One shipment exploded.
Several witnesses survived.
Including Elena's parents.
They planned to testify.
Victor's business partners arranged to silence them forever.
Elena covered her mouth.
"You knew?"
Victor closed his eyes.
"I learned the truth too late."
"You let me believe I was an orphan because of fate."
"I believed protecting you was the only way."
Julian stepped backward as though he no longer recognized the man who had raised him.
"You built your empire on their deaths."
Victor said nothing.
His silence became the answer everyone feared.
Then police officers entered the ballroom.
Someone had anonymously sent them the original surveillance footage only minutes earlier.
Victor was arrested before the wedding ceremony could continue.
As he was escorted away, he turned toward Julian.
"I did everything for this family."
Julian answered quietly,
May you like
"No."
"You destroyed it."
