Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Olivia

"The bride is gone!"

The words exploded through the bridal suite barely thirty minutes before the wedding ceremony.

For one terrifying second, time stood still.

A makeup brush slipped from one of the artist's hands, leaving a streak of blush across the vanity.

One bridesmaid gasped.

Another accidentally knocked over a tray of champagne flutes.

Even the wedding planner froze, her clipboard slipping from her trembling fingers before crashing onto the marble floor.

My heart skipped a beat.

"What do you mean she's gone?" my mother demanded, shooting to her feet so quickly that her chair scraped loudly against the floor.

Every pair of eyes turned toward the young maid standing at the entrance.

She looked seconds away from bursting into tears.

"I-I..." Her voice quivered as she twisted the edge of her apron between her fingers. 

"Miss Vanessa said she wanted a few minutes alone before the ceremony. She asked me to leave the room."

"So?" My mother's voice rose another octave.

"I waited outside like she asked. After a while, I thought it was taking too long, so I knocked." The maid swallowed hard. "There was no answer."

A chill crept down my spine.

"I opened the door…"

She hesitated, her face turning pale. "and Miss Vanessa wasn't inside."

Silence.

The words seemed too impossible to understand.

"What nonsense are you saying?" Mother snapped. "Her wedding starts in less than thirty minutes!"

"I-I'm telling the truth, Madam." 

"Did you search the bathroom?" Mother snapped.

"Yes."

"The balcony?"

"Yes."

"The dressing room?"

"Yes."

Mother pushed past her so abruptly that the poor maid stumbled sideways. 

"I'll check myself."

Without thinking, I hurried after her.

The bridal suite looked exactly as we'd left it. The wedding gown was gone. The bouquet was missing.

Vanessa's phone charger still dangled from the wall socket, but her phone was nowhere to be seen.

Her jewelry box lay open on the vanity.

The room was eerily empty.

Mother searched every corner as though my sister might magically appear if she looked hard enough.

"Vanessa!" she shouted.

No answer.

She threw open the wardrobe, yanked back the shower curtain and even crouched to look beneath the bed before slowly standing again. Nothing.

"No..." Her face turned pale.

My father stormed into the room at that exact moment.

"What happened?" he demanded. "People are already asking why the bride hasn't come downstairs."

Mother turned toward him, her lips trembling.

"She's gone."

His brows knitted together. "What?"

"Vanessa is gone."

For a second, he simply stared at us.

Then he let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

"Enough with the jokes. Tell her to come out."

"No one's joking," I whispered.

The smile disappeared from his face. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room.

Then another bridesmaid rushed inside, breathing heavily.

"Mr. Brooks! Mrs. Brooks!"

"What now?" Father barked.

"We've searched the entire hotel."

My stomach tightened.

She shook her head helplessly. "We can't find Miss Vanessa anywhere."

No one spoke.

Then I saw the look that crossed my father's face.

It wasn't fear anymore. It was realization.

Mother noticed it too.

"...No," she whispered, almost to herself. "She wouldn't."

But the truth was already beginning to settle over all of us.

My full arms shook as I stared at the empty bridal suite, the white gown Vanessa should have been wearing still hanging on the mannequin like a ghost. The veil lay abandoned on the vanity, and her bouquet sat wilting on the table. 

Vanessa had always hated this marriage. She had argued with our parents countless times.

She had even threatened not to show up.

But despite all that, I never believed she'd actually disappear on her wedding day.

The alliance between the Brooks family and the Sterlings had been arranged long ago. Everyone in the city knew the Sterlings. They were influential, untouchable, and impossibly wealthy. 

People lowered their voices whenever they spoke about the Sterling family.

And today, the Sterling heir, Xander Sterling, was waiting at the altar.

If Vanessa truly ran away, I didn't even want to imagine what would happen next.

Just then, another maid came rushing into the room, completely out of breath.

"Madam!"

She stopped at the doorway, struggling to catch her breath.

"T-the Sterling family has arrived."

The room froze.

My father glanced at his watch, his expression twisting into pure horror. 

"The guests are already being seated," the maid continued nervously. "The wedding coordinator says Mr. Sterling's grandfather is asking why the ceremony hasn't begun."

My father's face darkened.

"Keep them occupied," he ordered immediately.

"H-how, sir?"

"I don't care!" he barked. "Offer them tea. Coffee. Champagne. Tell them there's a minor delay. Just don't let them suspect anything."

The maid hurried away.

The wedding planner swallowed nervously.

"Mr. Brooks..." she began cautiously. "We can't delay the ceremony for long."

"I know that!" 

"If the Sterlings discover the bride has disappeared—"

"I said I know!" My father snapped.

The room fell into another suffocating silence.

I had never seen my father like this. The man who never panicked, who always had a plan, looked completely helpless. His shoulders sagged, his haws ticking.

"What are we going to do?" My mother whispered, her voice cracking. "We can't humiliate the Sterlings."

My father shut his eyes for a brief moment.

When he opened them again, his gaze landed on me.

Something about the way he looked at me made my stomach twist.

My mother slowly turned as well. Then the wedding planner. The bridesmaids. Even the makeup artists.

One by one, every pair of eyes settled on me.

"W-Why are you all looking at me?" I asked, taking an uneasy step backward.

No one answered.

Instead, my father walked toward me. He stopped only inches away. His voice was quiet. Almost too quiet.

"Olivia..."

My heart pounded harder.

"I need you to do something for this family."

A strange sense of fear crept over me. "...What?"

He took a slow, shaky breath.

"You're going to marry Xander Sterling instead.”