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Chapter 6: THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

Author: Lara Rose
last update publish date: 2026-09-10 05:30:59

The room remained silent after the video disappeared.

Celine stared at the black screen as if Marcus might suddenly reappear and explain that everything had been a mistake.

But he didn’t.

His words remained in her mind.

Your marriage to him was part of the plan.

Her marriage.

Her entire life with Adam.

Could it really have been planned by someone else?

Celine slowly shook her head.

“No.”

Adam didn’t move.

The marriage certificate still lay on the table between them.

The date was wrong.

The signature beneath his name looked like his, but something about it bothered him. He had signed hundreds of documents throughout his life. He knew his own handwriting.

“This isn’t my signature,” he said quietly.

Celine looked at him.

“What?”

Adam picked up the certificate.

“I thought it was mine at first. But look at the final letter.”

She leaned closer.

The signature was almost identical to Adam’s, but the last stroke was different.

“You’re right,” she whispered.

Adam looked at her.

“Then someone forged both our signatures.”

Celine’s heart pounded.

“But why?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out.”

He reached for the certificate.

Celine suddenly stopped him.

“Wait.”

Adam looked at her.

“What?”

She pointed to the bottom of the document.

There was a small stamp beneath the signatures.

A hospital seal.

Celine frowned.

“That shouldn’t be there.”

“Why?”

“Because this isn’t a hospital document.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed.

Celine took the certificate carefully.

“When we got married, the certificate was processed through the civil registry. There was no hospital involved.”

Adam stared at her.

“Are you sure?”

“I am.”

She had spent years studying medical documents, legal forms, and patient records. Details like this didn’t escape her.

Adam stood.

“Then this document wasn’t created when we got married.”

Celine’s eyes widened.

“Someone created it afterward.”

“Exactly.”

A cold silence settled between them.

Someone had created a fake marriage certificate and inserted it into a video designed to make Celine believe her marriage had been part of a conspiracy.

But there was one question neither of them could answer.

Why would anyone go to such lengths?

Adam’s phone suddenly rang.

Unknown number.

He answered.

“Hello?”

No response.

“Who is this?”

A faint sound came through the speaker.

Breathing.

Then a whisper.

“You should have left her alone.”

Adam’s expression hardened.

“Who are you?”

The caller laughed softly.

“You still don’t understand.”

The line went dead.

Celine watched him.

“What did they say?”

Adam didn’t answer immediately.

“They said I should have left you alone.”

Her stomach tightened.

“They’re watching us.”

“I know.”

Adam walked toward the window and pulled the curtain aside.

The street below was almost empty.

Then he noticed something.

A black sedan parked across the road.

His eyes narrowed.

“Celine.”

She walked toward him.

“What?”

“Don’t stand near the window.”

She stopped.

The black car suddenly started its engine.

Adam grabbed his jacket.

“Stay here.”

“No.”

“Celine—”

“I’m coming with you.”

He stared at her.

“This isn’t a game.”

“I know.”

She picked up the marriage certificate.

“And neither is this.”

They left the apartment together.

By the time they reached the street, the black sedan was gone.

Adam looked in both directions.

Nothing.

Celine exhaled.

“Maybe they just wanted us to see them.”

“Maybe.”

She looked at him.

“You’re starting to sound like Daniel.”

Adam almost smiled.

“That’s not necessarily an insult.”

“It is today.”

For the first time that night, the tension between them eased.

But it lasted only a moment.

Celine looked down at the certificate again.

“There has to be somewhere we can verify this.”

“The registry.”

“Exactly.”

Adam nodded.

“We’ll go tomorrow.”

Celine looked at him.

“Together?”

“Unless you don’t want me there.”

She hesitated.

“I didn’t say that.”

Their eyes met.

For a few seconds, neither looked away.

There was something changing between them.

Something neither wanted to name.

Adam slowly reached for her hand.

Celine didn’t pull away.

His fingers closed around hers.

And for a moment, the conspiracy, the forged documents, the missing memories—all of it disappeared.

Then Celine’s phone vibrated.

She pulled it from her pocket.

One new message.

No number.

Just an image.

She opened it.

Her breath caught.

It was an old photograph of her and Adam.

But it wasn’t their wedding photograph.

It showed them standing outside a building neither of them recognized.

Celine zoomed in.

There was a date printed in the corner.

Six months before their wedding.

Adam stared at the picture.

“Where is that?”

“I don’t know.”

Celine’s voice trembled.

Then she noticed the woman standing behind them.

Her face was partially hidden.

But Celine recognized the coat.

She had seen it before.

At the hospital.

On the night Adam’s life changed forever.

Celine whispered one word.

“Victoria.”

Adam looked at her.

The phone vibrated again.

A second message appeared.

Ask Victoria what happened six months before your wedding.

Celine’s blood ran cold.

Because beneath the message was one final sentence.

She was there when your marriage was planned.

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