Chapter 10: The Reckoning**
As Richard was escorted down the center aisle, he stopped beside James, his eyes burning with venom. "I built you, James! Without my capital, your firm would have collapsed a decade ago! Claire was going to ruin everything for a moral crusade!"
James looked at the man he had trusted for thirty years and felt no rage—only a profound, liberating pity.
"Claire built the only thing that ever mattered," James said, resting a hand gently on Lily's shoulder. "And you will spend the rest of your life looking at concrete walls while she lives on in our daughter."
The heavy double doors closed behind the police escort, cutting off Richard's bitter protests. The silence that followed in the church was absolute, reverent, and cleansed of deceit.
The minister cleared his throat softly, looking at the bride and groom with wide eyes. "Shall we... continue, Mr. Vance?"
May you like
"Yes, Reverend," James replied, turning back to Rebecca with a warm, genuine smile. "Let’s finish what we started."
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