Chapter 5

Instead of stepping forward onto the white runner that led down the long aisle, I turned sharply to the left.

Right beside the entrance doors stood the cathedral's media booth. Two young sound technicians were sitting behind a wide console covered in audio sliders, video monitors, and live-streaming equipment. Both of them were staring at me with their jaws practically touching the desk.

"Miss Sterling?" the older technician stammered, scrambling to stand up. "Are you... are you not going to walk down the aisle?"

"Give me the wireless microphone," I said.

"What?" he blinked in confusion. "Miss Sterling, that microphone is routed directly to the altar speakers and the entire cathedral sound system. It's meant for the priest during the homily—"

"I didn't ask what it was meant for," I said in a calm, flat voice. "Hand it to me. And plug this phone into the primary HDMI display feed right now."

I placed my phone onto his desk with the screen already unlocked. The technician looked down at the video file waiting on the display, then looked back at my face. The absolute coldness in my eyes must have frightened him, because he quickly swallowed his objections, picked up the black microphone, and handed it to me without another word.

"Evelyn!" Julian’s voice boomed down the center of the sanctuary.

He was leaning forward from the altar steps, his face glowing with a wide, relieved smile that looked so convincing it made my stomach churn.

"Evelyn, you're here!" Julian shouted, opening his arms wide as if he were welcoming a lost child home. "Thank God you're safe! Sweetheart, what happened to your clothes? Why are you standing all the way back there by the doors? Come down the aisle to me!"

My father stepped out into the middle of the aisle, shaking his fist toward me.

"Evelyn, have you completely lost your mind?" my father yelled, his voice echoing violently off the high stone pillars. "Look at the way you are dressed! Look at your hair! Everyone in this city is sitting here watching you make a complete fool of yourself! Walk down that aisle right this second, apologize to Julian, and let’s get this ceremony started!"

I didn't move an inch. I lifted the microphone to my lips, flicked the power switch on, and let my voice carry through every speaker mounted on the stone walls.

"I'm not walking down that aisle, Julian," I said.

My voice was crystal clear, steady, and completely devoid of warmth. It cut through the enormous room like a sharp blade, instantly silencing the few guests who had still been whispering in the back pews.

Julian’s smile faltered for a second, but he quickly recovered, smoothing his tuxedo jacket as he took two steps forward down the altar stairs.

"Evelyn, darling, please don't do this," Julian said, raising his voice so the whole room could hear his patient, gentle tone. "I know you're upset. I know the stress of the wedding and the press outside has been overwhelming for you. If you were frightened, you should have just told me. You don't have to hide behind a microphone. Come to me. Let me hold your hand, and we will get through this together."

"Yes, Evie, listen to him!" Chloe called out, her voice trembling with sweet, tearful concern as she hurried down the steps to stand beside Julian. "Look at how much Julian loves you! He hasn't said a single bad word about you all morning, even though you left him waiting at the altar for over an hour! Put that microphone down before you ruin everything!"

I looked down the long hall at the two of them standing side by side, looking like a devoted couple trying to rescue a difficult bride.

"Why should I put the microphone down, Chloe?" I asked, my voice echoing over their heads. "Only five minutes ago, you were standing right there in the middle aisle, telling our father that I had run away with an older man. Weren't you?"

Chloe’s eyes widened slightly, a flicker of panic darting across her delicate features.

"I... I was only trying to make sense of why you weren't here, Evie!" Chloe defended herself quickly, her voice cracking with dramatic sorrow. "I was terrified for you! I saw you leave the lounge last night with an older investor, and I thought—"

"You thought you could finish the lie you started last night," I interrupted her smoothly. "You thought you could tell everyone I was a shameless woman who abandoned her fiancé, so our father would disown me and hand all my company shares directly to you. Isn't that what you told Dad just before I opened those doors?"

"Evelyn, that is enough!" my father roared from the front, his face turning an angry shade of purple. "Your sister has done nothing but worry about you all morning! She has been Julian’s biggest comfort while you were out partying and tearing your clothes! How dare you stand there and insult your own family in front of our guests?"

"Is that what she did, Dad?" I asked quietly over the microphone. "Did she comfort him?"

Julian took another step forward, holding up both hands in a pleading gesture.

"Evelyn, sweetheart, please stop," Julian begged, his voice shaking with feigned agony. "Look around you. Our parents are here. The board of directors is here. The media is recording every word you say. If you have concerns about the wedding, we can talk about them in private after the service. I promise you, I don't care about the shares. I don't care about the company. I only care about you. Please, just walk down the aisle and become my wife."

"You don't care about the company, Julian?" I tilted my head, looking straight into his lying eyes. "Then why did you insist that my father sign the final merger contracts this morning before I even arrived at the church?"

Julian stiffened, his jaw clenching for a fraction of a second. "That was standard legal procedure! You know how the timeline for the merger was set up! Why are you trying to twist everything into a conspiracy?"

"Because you are a liar, Julian," I said, my voice rising with absolute authority. "And so is my sister."

"Evelyn, stop this right now!" Chloe cried, stomping her foot on the stone floor. "You're embarrassing yourself! If you don't want to marry Julian, just say so and leave, but don't drag my name through the mud because of your own guilt!"

"My guilt?" A cold smile curved across my lips. "No, Chloe. I don't have anything to feel guilty about today. But the two of you certainly do."

I glanced over at the young technician beside me and gave him a single, firm nod.

"Plug it in," I commanded.

"Evelyn, what are you doing?" Julian yelled, his voice finally losing its calm, gentle facade. "Turn off that equipment right now!"

"Shut it down!" my father shouted at the sound booth. "Don't touch those controls!"

It was too late.

High above the altar, the cathedral’s two massive projector screens flickered to life. The church lights dimmed automatically as the high-definition display brightened, filling the screens with a crystal-clear video feed.

The background was instantly recognizable to everyone in the room: the private bridal dressing room on the second floor of this very cathedral. The timestamp in the corner read exactly one hour ago.

On the screen, Chloe was backed up against the vanity table, her bridesmaid dress pulled down off her shoulders. Julian was pressed hard against her, his hands buried in her blonde hair, his mouth locked onto hers in a violent, hungry kiss.

The audio from the video feed roared through every speaker in the cathedral, echoing off the stone walls in shocking clarity:

"Julian... stop, someone might hear us..."

"Nobody is coming, Chloe. Your idiot sister is drugged out of her mind in that hotel room. By noon today, her shares belong to me, and you will be the only woman in my bed."

Then, Julian pulled her deeper against his chest, kissing her neck and lips passionately while Chloe wrapped her bare legs tightly around his waist.