Chapter 5 - The Ceremony Begins
The dramatic organ music abruptly stopped, causing a loud, screeching feedback noise to echo through the massive ballroom.
The hundreds of elite guests gasped collectively, rising from their seats in absolute confusion as the federal agents marched aggressively down the center aisle.
Richard's arrogant smile completely melted off his face, replaced by a look of sheer, unadulterated panic as he backed away from the altar.
The lead federal agent held up a heavily stamped warrant and demanded that all doors to the venue be locked immediately.
Eleanor stood up from her front-row seat, clutching her pearl necklace and screaming that this was an outrageous violation of their private family event.
I remained seated comfortably next to Alexander, watching the absolute destruction of the Hale family unfold exactly as we had planned.
Richard frantically yelled at the priest to continue the ceremony, desperate to get the legal marriage documents signed before the authorities reached him.
He clearly believed that marrying a pregnant woman would somehow garner sympathy from the aggressive federal investigators closing in on him.
But before the confused priest could even open his ceremonial book, Alexander raised his hand and gave a subtle, silent signal to his security team.
The massive, high-definition projector screens behind the altar, which were supposed to display a romantic slideshow of the couple, suddenly flickered to life.
Instead of displaying beautiful engagement photos, the screens projected a highly classified, heavily stamped medical document for the entire room to see.
The document was dated five years ago, bearing the official logo of the most prestigious fertility clinic in the entire state.
The bold, undeniable text on the screen clearly stated that Richard Hale suffered from a permanent, irreversible condition that resulted in a zero sperm count.
The entire ballroom erupted into absolute chaos, with wealthy socialites whispering and pointing frantically at the groom who had lied to all of them.
Richard lunged toward the audiovisual equipment table, screaming violently at the terrified technician to shut the massive screens off immediately.
He frantically yelled that the documents were completely forged and that I was a bitter, jealous ex-wife trying to ruin his perfect life.
Alexander stood up slowly from his chair, buttoning his navy suit jacket with a calm, terrifyingly powerful presence that commanded absolute silence.
He picked up a microphone from the podium and his deep, resonant voice completely overwhelmed Richard's pathetic, frantic screaming.
May you like
Alexander calmly informed the shocked crowd that he had personally brought the chief medical doctor from that exact clinic to verify the authenticity of the records.
The older, distinguished doctor stepped out from the shadows near the choir loft, holding a stack of original, signed medical files.
