Chapter 6 - The Groom’s Dark Secret
Before Arthur could collapse entirely into the arms of a horrified guest, a sharp, metallic clatter cut through the heavy air of the ballroom.
Daniel had backed away from us until the back of his knees hit the edge of the bridal dais. His face was no longer just pale; it was an eerie, sickly shade of grey. His eyes were wide, fixed not on Arthur, nor on me, but on the tall wedding cake tower behind him. He looked like a cornered animal trapped in a burning building with no way out.
“Daniel?” Grace called out, her voice trembling as she turned away from her ruined father to look at her groom. She reached out, her diamond-encrusted fingers brushing his sleeve. “Daniel, what’s going on? Make them stop! Tell them this is insane!”
Daniel didn't answer her. He couldn't. His chest was heaving so violently that the lapels of his tuxedo jacket shook.
I turned my attention from my father to the golden boy of St. Jude Memorial. I walked slowly toward the dais, my heels clicking rhythmically against the marble floor. Evan stayed a few paces back, keeping Liam safely occupied with a quiet whisper about the dessert table, while every pair of eyes in the room tracked my every move.
“You look nervous, Daniel,” I said, stopping at the base of the white-carpeted steps. “Almost as if you’re worried that corporate fraud isn't the only illegal activity being dragged into the light tonight.”
Daniel swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. “I don't know what you’re talking about, Adeline. You’re insane. You’ve always been unstable—ever since your mother walked out—and now you’re dragging my name—”
“Your name?” I interrupted, letting out a short, dry laugh. “Which name is that, Daniel? The one on your diploma, or the one you used when you bought your way into the cardiology fellowship at Johns Hopkins eleven years ago?”
Daniel flinched as if he’d been shot.
Across the room, Dr. Robert Vance’s head snapped up. “What did you just say?”
“Ask him, Dr. Vance,” I said, turning to address the entire assembly of senior physicians and board members. “Ask Dr. Mercer how he managed to secure the highest research grant in the department the exact same week my undergraduate thesis mysteriously vanished from the university server.”
A collective murmur rippled through the crowd.
“She’s lying,” Daniel shouted, his voice cracking with panic as he pointed a shaking finger at me. “She’s trying to destroy my wedding because her own life fell apart! Security, get her out of my sight! She’s delusional!”
“I’m not delusional, Daniel,” I said calmly, pulling a second, smaller flash drive from my clutch and holding it up where everyone could see. “I’m thorough. This drive contains the original metadata, the encrypted timestamps, and the digital paper trail proving that every single cardiac regeneration algorithm you published under your name was stolen directly from my lab station the night before I was thrown out of my family’s house.”
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Grace spun around to face Daniel, her eyes wide with absolute horror. “Daniel... tell me she’s lying. Tell me that’s not true!”
Daniel opened his mouth, but no words came out. He looked at Grace, then at the frozen faces of the hospital board members standing near the bar, and finally down at the floor. His silence was louder than any confession could ever be.
