Chapter 2 - The Bridal Suite
The ominous threat hung in the air long after Raymond dragged Marcus away from the terrace.
The bewildered guests began to whisper furiously, packing up their expensive gifts and fleeing the venue.
Natalie stood alone among the ruins of her perfect day, clutching her torn white dress.
Her mother rushed forward, sobbing hysterically and asking what kind of monster they had invited into their family.
Natalie could not answer, because her mind was violently racing back to Marcus's final, chilling words.
She turned away from the devastated crowd and sprinted blindly toward the massive historic manor.
Her expensive heels snapped against the polished hardwood floors as she raced up the grand staircase.
She burst into the luxurious bridal suite, slamming the heavy oak doors shut behind her.
The room was still perfectly decorated with white roses and expensive silk ribbons.
Natalie dropped to her knees, frantically searching the thick carpet beneath the massive king bed.
She tore the decorative wooden panels away from the baseboard, her manicured nails snagging on the rough wood.
Behind a loose piece of drywall, she found a heavy, black metal lockbox hidden completely out of sight.
Her hands shook violently as she pulled the heavy box out into the light.
She recognized the cheap combination lock as the same one Marcus used on his gym bag.
She quickly dialed in his birth date, and the metal latch clicked open with a sickeningly loud snap.
Inside the dark box sat a single, untraceable prepaid burner phone and a thick stack of printed banking documents.
Natalie grabbed the papers, her eyes scanning the terrifying offshore account balances.
Millions of dollars had been secretly transferred out of her own family's company trust fund over the last six months.
She realized Marcus was never actually in love with her.
He was a corporate parasite, sent to drain her wealthy family entirely dry.
She picked up the cheap burner phone and pressed the power button, praying it would turn on.
The cracked screen lit up immediately, displaying a single unread text message from an unsaved number.
Natalie opened the message, her heart pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird.
The text simply read that the transfer was complete and the bride needed to be eliminated tonight.
Before she could process the horrifying reality of her own impending murder, a photo attached to the message slowly loaded on the screen.
It was a picture of the sender, confirming exactly who had helped Marcus steal the family fortune.
May you like
Natalie let out a broken, agonizing scream as she stared at the smiling face on the cracked screen.
The mastermind working with Marcus was Chloe, her very own younger sister.
