CHAPTER 3 — THE WOMAN THEY SHOULD HAVE FEARED
CHAPTER 3 — THE WOMAN THEY SHOULD HAVE FEARED
Rain began to fall before I reached the end of the estate's long driveway.
Each drop washed away another trace of the perfect bride I had tried so hard to be.
My veil was gone.
My makeup had blurred.
My wedding dress dragged through puddles and broken flower petals scattered by the wind.
Yet with every step, I felt strangely lighter.
My phone vibrated.
Daniel.
Again.
And again.
Nine missed calls.
Then a message appeared.
Please come back. We can fix this.
I laughed for the first time all day.
Fix what?
A broken door?
A broken marriage?
Or a broken promise?
I deleted the message without replying.
Another call came.
This time from an unfamiliar number.
"Miss Carter?"
The voice belonged to an elderly man.
"My name is Harold Bennett."
"I've been trying to reach you for months."
"I worked for your grandfather."
I stopped walking.
"My grandfather died when I was twelve."
There was a long silence.
"No," Harold answered quietly.
"That's what everyone was told."
The world seemed to stop.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your grandfather left something behind."
"A company."
"A fortune."
"And a letter."
"He instructed me to give them to you only if the Ashford family ever betrayed you."
Lightning flashed across the dark sky.
Harold spoke one final sentence.
"I've been waiting twenty years for this phone call."
The line went silent.
I stared into the rain.
Everything I believed about my past...
Had just changed.
Far behind me, inside the glowing mansion, Victoria Ashford celebrated what she believed was her greatest victory.
May you like
She had no idea...
She had just created her most dangerous enemy.
