Chapter 5
The sound of shattering plate glass drowned out Mark’s sudden, choked scream of disbelief. Julian’s body vaulted straight through the reinforced windowpane of the bridal suite, sending glittering shards raining down onto the cobblestone courtyard two stories below like diamonds in the harsh morning sun.
"Julian!" Mark roared, rushing to the jagged frame and looking down.
Detective Vance and the two uniformed officers reacted with military precision. One officer bolted out the door toward the grand staircase to cut off any escape route, while Vance drew his service weapon, leaning cautiously over the windowsill to assess the courtyard below.
Elena stood paralyzed in the center of the room, her white satin gown trailing through the spilled perfume and crushed rose petals. Her mind raced faster than the shattering glass had fallen. There was no body on the cobblestones. No blood. Just a neat, perfectly positioned black sedan idling by the fountain, its doors snapping open just as Julian landed lightly on his feet and slid into the backseat.
"He’s gone!" Vance cursed, pulling his radio from his belt. "All units, be advised, suspect is mobile in a black town car heading toward the north gate. Cut him off!"
Mark whipped around, his face purple with rage, pointing a shaking finger directly at Elena. "This was a setup! You and your precious Julian planned this from the very beginning to humiliate me and steal the merger!"
"I didn't even know he was alive five minutes ago, Mark," Elena said, her voice frighteningly steady as she stared at the man she had almost married. The terror she had felt earlier had completely vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp clarity. "Your brother didn't just escape a sanatorium. He orchestrated an extraction. Which means the police aren't just here for corporate fraud, are they, Detective?"
Vance lowered his radio and turned his sharp gaze from the window toward Mark. He holstered his weapon slowly, stepping away from the glass. "No, Miss Vance—or should I say, Miss Reynolds. We aren't just here for fraud."
Mark backed up until his spine hit the mahogany dressing table, his chest heaving as he realized the trap had fully closed around him. "You have no proof of anything. The audit was destroyed. Julian is a lunatic whose testimony holds zero weight in a court of law."
"We don't need Julian's testimony," Vance replied calmly, pulling a heavy manila folder from under his arm and tossing it onto the ruined table. "We found the primary server you tried to wipe from your downtown office this morning. Every transaction, every offshore account, and the audio recording of you paying the coroner to sign Julian's fake death certificate."
Elena watched Mark crumble, his shoulders sagging as the reality of his impending arrest finally set in. The grand wedding, the three hundred guests, the expensive flowers—all of it was reduced to ash in a matter of minutes. She turned toward the doorway, gathering the heavy skirts of her wedding gown, ready to walk out of the room and leave this nightmare behind.
"Don't leave me, Elena," Mark pleaded, his voice breaking into a pathetic whine as he reached out a desperate hand toward her. "I did it all for us. For our future!"
May you like
Elena stopped at the threshold without looking back. "There is no us, Mark. There never was."
She stepped out into the hallway, the heavy oak door clicking shut behind her. But as she reached the top of the grand staircase, ready to face the crowd of waiting guests, a gloved hand suddenly clamped over her mouth from the shadows of the alcove, and a familiar whisper breathed directly into her ear.
