Chapter 2 - THE WAGES OF DECEIT

The collective roar of five hundred outraged guests was deafening. Investors shouted in disgust; society matrons gasped and whispered furiously behind their fans.

Vanessa fell to her knees, hiding her face in her hands, her designer gown pooling around her like a puddle of blood.

“You planted it,” Ethan whispered, the betrayal making his voice shake. “You tried to destroy an innocent woman to cover up your own theft.”

“She made me do it!” Vanessa suddenly shrieked, pointing a shaking, accusatory finger directly at the bride.

Natalie recoiled as if she had been struck by lightning. “Shut up, Vanessa!”

“I won’t!” Vanessa sobbed, crawling forward. “Ethan, she made me do it! The Mercers are broke! Natalie’s trust fund was drained three years ago! She owed half a million dollars to her ex-fiancé in Europe! She told me to skim the wages, to short the vendors! She said once you were married, she would have access to your accounts and pay everything back quietly!”

“You lying bitch!” Natalie screamed, lunging at her sister. She tackled Vanessa to the floor, silk and chiffon tearing as the two women clawed at each other.

The guests watched in horrified fascination as the elegant, poised bride turned into a snarling animal, ripping at her sister’s hair. Marcus and another guard quickly moved in, pulling the screeching women apart.

Ethan stood frozen, the magnitude of the deception washing over him. His entire relationship, the woman he thought he loved, the family he was marrying into—it was all a parasitical trap.

He looked at Natalie, panting and disheveled in the arms of his security guards, her tiara hanging crookedly in her tangled hair.

“Is it true?” Ethan asked, his voice dead of all emotion.

Natalie stopped fighting. She looked at Ethan’s cold, lifeless eyes and knew the game was over. The sweet, loving facade melted away, replaced by a sneer of pure, venomous entitlement.

“So what if it is?” Natalie spat, her voice echoing horribly in the massive room. “You have billions, Ethan! What does a few hundred thousand matter to you? You work all the time, you’re obsessed with your buildings, your safety regulations! I had to tolerate your boring, traumatized existence for two years! I earned that money!”

Ethan didn't shout. He didn't scream. He simply nodded, a frighteningly calm gesture.

“Marcus,” Ethan said.

“Sir?”

“Call the police. I want Vanessa Mercer and Cole Ramsey arrested for grand larceny and embezzlement.” Ethan turned his back on his bride. “And I want Natalie escorted off the premises immediately.”

“You can’t do this!” Natalie shrieked, struggling against the guards. “We signed the papers! We’re married! Half of everything you own is mine!”

Ethan stopped. He looked over his shoulder, a dark, predatory smile touching his lips. “My lawyers advised me to have the officiant file the marriage certificate on Monday morning, Natalie. It’s currently in my jacket pocket. Unsigned.”