Chapter 3
The reception hall dissolved into absolute pandemonium as paramedics burst through the heavy oak doors, their bright medical bags clattering against the floor. Maya stood frozen, her white bridal gown catching the harsh glare of the emergency lights. She stared at Clara’s motionless form, then slowly turned her gaze back to Julian, whose expression remained disturbingly detached.
“Julian, what did she mean?” Maya whispered, her voice trembling as the medics pushed past them. “What did you swap? What was in that glass?”
Julian gently placed a hand on Maya’s bare shoulder, his touch warm yet entirely devoid of comfort. “It was just a misunderstanding, honey. Clara had too much to drink, and she mixed up her glass with mine. That’s all.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Maya hissed, pulling away from his touch with a sudden, sharp violence. “I saw her face. I saw the way you looked at her before she took that sip. People don’t just collapse like that from alcohol poisoning!”
Across the table, a medic kneeling beside Clara held up the glass Julian had pushed aside. He sniffed the rim, his professional demeanor instantly vanishing, replaced by a grim, hard squint. He slipped the glass into an evidence bag and looked up sharply at the groom.
“Sir, are you the groom?” the medic asked, his voice cutting through the rising murmurs of the horrified wedding guests.
Julian stepped forward, shielding Maya slightly with his body. “Yes. I am. Is she going to make it?”
The medic stood up slowly, wiping his hands on a sterile cloth. “She ingested a massive dose of a synthetic paralytic agent. It targets the central nervous system within seconds. If she hadn't vomited a portion of it, she’d be dead right now. The police are already on their way.”
Maya gasped, clapping both hands over her mouth as the room spun around her. She looked at Julian, seeing a stranger standing in the place of the man she had married just an hour ago.
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“The police?” Maya breathed, her eyes welling with tears. “Julian… what did you do before we walked down that aisle?”
Julian didn't answer right away. He slowly reached into his inner suit jacket, pulled out his phone, and stared at a cryptic text message notification that had just flashed across the screen.
