Chapter 10 — The Wedding That Never Happened
Chapter 10 — The Wedding That Never Happened
At 11:43 p.m., the Mercer mansion became a prison.
Every door locked.
Every window sealed.
The chandeliers went dark.
Then the speakers came alive.
“Welcome home, Dominic.”
Gabriel's voice traveled through every corridor.
Calm.
Almost amused.
“You've finally discovered the first betrayal.”
Dominic stood in the center of the library, his gun pointed at the man who claimed to be his father.
For twenty-five years, he had believed this man was dead.
Now the dead man was smiling at him.
“But you still haven't discovered the last.”
The speakers clicked off.
Silence returned.
Dominic didn't lower his weapon.
“Where is Noah?”
His father stared at him.
“You've asked that question three times.”
“And I'll ask it three hundred more.”
“He's alive.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“He's safer than you are.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“Where?”
His father looked toward Emma.
“She knows.”
Emma shook her head.
“I don't know where Gabriel took him.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“But you know where Natalie went.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me.”
Emma hesitated.
“She went to the old chapel.”
Dominic frowned.
“Why?”
“To meet someone.”
“Who?”
Emma looked toward the clock.
“Brooke.”
Dominic remembered the wedding.
It was supposed to happen the next morning.
At noon.
Two hundred guests.
A cathedral full of flowers.
Private security on every entrance.
Brooke's dress had already arrived.
The invitations had been sent.
The champagne had been delivered.
For months, everyone had called it the wedding of the year.
But now Dominic understood.
The wedding had never been a celebration.
It had been a trap.
He looked at his father's face.
“Why was Brooke chosen?”
His father smiled.
“Because she was useful.”
“To whom?”
“To Gabriel.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“She was supposed to marry me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel needed access to the Mercer estate.”
Dominic stared.
“What access?”
“Your wife would have had legal authority over certain family properties.”
Dominic's stomach tightened.
“The blue room.”
His father nodded.
“The trust.”
“The accounts.”
“The private archives.”
“And the house.”
Dominic understood.
The moment Brooke married him, she would have become part of the legal structure Catherine had spent years protecting.
She wouldn't merely have been Dominic's wife.
She would have had access.
His father continued.
“Gabriel didn't need to steal the fortune.”
“He needed someone inside the family who could open every door.”
Dominic looked toward Emma.
“And Brooke agreed.”
“She didn't know everything.”
“She knew enough.”
His father shrugged.
“She wanted money.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“And you?”
“I wanted survival.”
“Whose side are you on?”
His father smiled.
“I'm on my own side.”
The old chapel stood at the eastern edge of the property.
Catherine had built it before Dominic was born.
It had been closed for years.
Dominic drove through the rain with Emma beside him.
His father's warnings followed them.
“Don't go.”
Dominic had ignored him.
Now the chapel appeared through the darkness.
One light burned inside.
Dominic stopped the car.
Emma grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
“The last time I went inside, I saw something.”
“What?”
“A woman.”
“Who?”
Emma swallowed.
“Catherine.”
Dominic stared at her.
“My mother?”
“I thought I was imagining it.”
“When?”
“Three weeks after the funeral.”
Dominic's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“My mother was dead.”
“I know.”
“Then who did you see?”
“I don't know.”
She looked toward the chapel.
“But she was wearing Catherine's coat.”
The chapel doors were unlocked.
Dominic entered.
“Brooke?”
No answer.
Candles burned along the walls.
A wedding arch stood at the altar.
White flowers.
White ribbons.
A white aisle.
Everything had been prepared.
Except there was no bride.
Dominic walked slowly forward.
On the altar sat a small box.
Inside was Brooke's engagement ring.
Beside it was a note.
THE WEDDING WAS NEVER FOR BROOKE.
Dominic read the next line.
IT WAS FOR THE HOUSE.
Emma whispered:
“What does that mean?”
Dominic didn't answer.
A sound came from behind the altar.
Natalie stepped out.
Dominic froze.
“Natalie.”
She looked exhausted.
“Noah?”
“He's safe.”
“Where?”
“I can't tell you.”
Dominic stepped toward her.
“You disappeared with him.”
“To protect him.”
“From Gabriel?”
Natalie shook her head.
“From you.”
Dominic stopped.
“What?”
Natalie looked at Emma.
Then at Dominic.
“You still don't understand what happened tonight.”
“Then explain.”
“The wedding.”
Dominic frowned.
“What about it?”
“It was designed to happen tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Natalie shook her head.
“It was designed to happen twenty-five years ago.”
She walked toward the altar.
“Mom knew Gabriel would return.”
“She knew Dad was alive.”
“She knew the trust would eventually become the target.”
“And she knew the only way to stop them was to make everyone believe the Mercer fortune belonged to Dominic.”
Dominic stared.
“But it didn't.”
“No.”
“Who did it belong to?”
Natalie looked toward the chapel doors.
“Noah.”
Dominic's heart tightened.
“But Noah wasn't even born.”
“Exactly.”
Natalie opened the box beneath the altar.
Inside was a sealed legal document.
“Mom created a future-beneficiary trust.”
Dominic took it.
The date was twenty-six years old.
The beneficiary was blank.
The condition read:
THE TRUST SHALL TRANSFER UPON THE BIRTH OF THE FIRST CHILD OF NATALIE MERCER.
Dominic looked at Natalie.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Noah inherited everything.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Mom told me never to.”
Dominic's eyes moved across the document.
“Then why did Gabriel want me to marry Brooke?”
Natalie looked at him.
“Because Gabriel doesn't need the money.”
Dominic's blood ran cold.
“He needs the beneficiary.”
The chapel door suddenly opened.
Brooke stood there.
Her wedding dress was already on.
Dominic stared at her.
“Brooke.”
She looked at him.
For once, she wasn't smiling.
Her makeup was ruined by tears.
“I didn't know.”
Dominic said nothing.
“I swear.”
Natalie stepped forward.
“You knew enough.”
Brooke shook her head.
“I knew Gabriel wanted the trust.”
“You worked with him.”
“I thought he wanted money.”
“And now?”
Brooke looked at Dominic.
“Now I know he wants Noah.”
Silence.
Dominic's face hardened.
“How?”
Brooke reached into her dress.
She removed a small phone.
“I recorded him.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
She pressed play.
Gabriel's voice filled the chapel.
“Once the wedding is complete, the trust becomes accessible.”
A man's voice answered.
“And Noah?”
“Remove him before the ceremony.”
Dominic's blood ran cold.
Brooke continued.
“What about Dominic?”
Gabriel laughed.
“Dominic will be too busy believing he's finally won.”
The recording stopped.
Dominic looked at Brooke.
“You knew this morning.”
“Yes.”
“And you still came to the chapel.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
Brooke began crying.
“Before I realized someone was following me.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the entrance.
“Marcus.”
The chapel lights went out.
A gunshot shattered the silence.
Everyone dropped.
Dominic pulled Natalie behind the altar.
Emma crawled toward the side wall.
Brooke screamed.
Another shot.
Glass exploded above them.
“Stay down!”
Dominic looked toward the doors.
A shadow moved outside.
Marcus.
Dominic fired.
The shadow disappeared.
He ran outside.
Nothing.
Only rain.
Then he saw footprints.
Leading toward the cemetery.
Dominic followed.
The cemetery was almost completely dark.
Marcus ran between the graves.
Dominic chased him.
“Stop!”
Marcus turned and fired.
The bullet struck the stone beside Dominic.
Dominic fired back.
Marcus dropped his weapon.
Dominic tackled him.
They crashed into the mud.
“Where is Noah?”
Marcus laughed.
“You still think Gabriel has him.”
Dominic froze.
“Who does?”
Marcus smiled.
“Your father.”
Dominic's fist tightened.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“Why would my father take Noah?”
“Because he knows what Noah carries.”
“The ledger?”
Marcus shook his head.
“The final key.”
Dominic stared.
“What final key?”
Marcus leaned closer.
“The seventh piece.”
Dominic's blood ran cold.
“We have six.”
Marcus smiled.
“No.”
He whispered:
“You have five.”
Dominic released him.
“What?”
Marcus laughed.
“You never had the sixth.”
Dominic's mind raced.
Noah had supposedly held the sixth piece.
But if Marcus was telling the truth—
“What did Gabriel take?”
“The recorder.”
Dominic's face changed.
“The recording?”
“No.”
Marcus smiled.
“The sixth piece was hidden inside it.”
Dominic stood.
“And the seventh?”
Marcus's smile disappeared.
“You already have it.”
Dominic searched his pockets.
Nothing.
Marcus whispered:
“Your wedding ring.”
Dominic stared at his hand.
The ring.
The ring Brooke had given him.
The ring Catherine had chosen.
The ring he had worn for months.
He pulled it off.
Inside the band was a tiny blue line.
A hidden compartment.
He twisted it.
The ring opened.
Inside was the seventh fragment.
Dominic stared.
“No.”
Marcus laughed.
“Your mother put it there before you met Brooke.”
Dominic remembered.
The day he had received the ring.
Catherine had given it to him.
She had told him:
When you finally choose the woman you trust, give her this.
He had thought it was sentimental.
It wasn't.
It was a key.
Marcus whispered:
“The wedding was the final move.”
“Why?”
“Because the moment you married Brooke, all seven pieces would have been brought together.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“And Gabriel would have the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“And Noah?”
Marcus looked toward the mansion.
“Would disappear.”
Dominic returned to the chapel.
Brooke was sitting beside the altar.
Natalie stood nearby.
Emma was holding the recording device.
Dominic placed the seventh piece on the altar.
“We have all seven.”
Natalie stared.
“Where did you get that?”
“My ring.”
Her face changed.
“Mom.”
Dominic nodded.
“She planned everything.”
Brooke stood.
“Then we can expose Gabriel.”
“No.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because we still don't know who betrayed Catherine.”
Natalie whispered:
“Maybe we do.”
She picked up the fragments.
She arranged them.
One by one.
Blue glass became a pattern.
Then letters appeared beneath the surface.
A name.
Everyone stared.
MARGARET HALE.
Emma frowned.
“Who is that?”
Dominic's face changed.
“I know her.”
“Who?”
“The family attorney.”
Natalie stared.
“She's been handling the Mercer estate for thirty years.”
Dominic nodded.
“And she was at Mom's funeral.”
Brooke whispered:
“She's the person who prepared your father's death certificate.”
Silence.
Everything stopped.
The attorney who had handled the estate.
The attorney who had authenticated the trust.
The attorney who had witnessed the signatures.
The attorney who had access to every document.
The attorney who had been present at Catherine's final meeting.
Margaret Hale.
The person everyone had trusted.
Dominic looked at the ledger.
“And she has the missing millions.”
His phone rang.
Margaret.
Dominic answered.
“Hello, Margaret.”
Her voice was calm.
“You finally found it.”
Dominic looked at the seven pieces.
“Yes.”
“Then you know.”
“I know your name.”
A pause.
“Names are dangerous things.”
“Where is Noah?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“You're asking the wrong question.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Then what should I ask?”
Margaret laughed softly.
“Ask why Catherine never reported Gabriel to the police.”
Dominic froze.
“Why?”
“Because she couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel wasn't the mastermind.”
Dominic's grip tightened.
“Then who was?”
Margaret answered:
“You'll see.”
The call ended.
Immediately, another message appeared.
A photograph.
Noah.
Sitting at a table.
Alive.
Safe.
Behind him stood Catherine's old portrait.
And beside the portrait was a woman.
Margaret Hale.
Dominic stared at the screen.
Then he noticed the date printed beneath the photograph.
TOMORROW — 11:00 A.M.
The wedding date.
Natalie whispered:
“She wants us there.”
Dominic nodded.
Brooke looked at him.
“Why?”
Dominic stared at the photograph.
“Because the wedding was never supposed to happen.”
He looked toward the altar.
“It was supposed to be a public execution.”
Emma's face went pale.
“Whose?”
Dominic looked at the photograph of Noah.
“Ours.”
At 11:00 the next morning, the cathedral was full.
Two hundred guests.
Reporters outside.
Security everywhere.
The Mercer wedding was about to begin.
But Dominic wasn't wearing a tuxedo.
He was wearing black.
Natalie stood beside him.
Emma stood behind them.
Brooke waited at the end of the aisle.
And hidden beneath Dominic's jacket was a recording device.
Every conversation.
Every confession.
Every lie.
Would be captured.
The doors opened.
Brooke walked forward.
Everyone stood.
The priest looked at Dominic.
“Are you ready?”
Dominic stared at Brooke.
Then at the crowd.
Then toward the balcony.
Margaret Hale was standing there.
Smiling.
Dominic understood.
She had come.
He whispered:
“Let's finish this.”
Brooke reached him.
Instead of taking his hand, she whispered:
“Dominic.”
“What?”
“Look at the altar.”
He did.
A small boy was standing beside the priest.
Noah.
Alive.
Dominic's heart nearly stopped.
But there was something wrong.
Noah wasn't smiling.
He was holding a letter.
He looked directly at Dominic.
Then he said:
“Dad…”
The cathedral became silent.
“…Grandma told me never to trust the bride.”
Brooke's face went white.
Every guest turned toward her.
And from the balcony, Margaret Hale began to applaud.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
May you like
Because the wedding had finally begun.
Just not the wedding anyone expected.
