Chapter 2 - The Final RehearsalThe grand ballroom of the Castellan Chicago estate smelled of imported white orchids, beeswax, and expensive champagne.
Underneath the glittering tiers of the crystal chandelier, three wedding coordinators rushed back and forth across the French parquet floor, adjusting chair placements, measuring the distance between the altar arches, and reviewing the seating chart for four hundred of the city’s most elite guests.
In the center of the room stood Victoria Lane.
She wore a custom-tailored rehearsal gown of ivory silk crepe, her blonde hair swept up into an immaculate chignon that defied gravity. She looked every bit the queen of Chicago society—flawless, untouchable, and radiantly confident.
“No, no, no,” Victoria said, clapping her hands lightly to halt a florist who was arranging hydrangeas near the dais. “The blue hydrangeas clash with the champagne linens. I told you three times, we are using white avalanche roses exclusively. If I see a single trace of blue in this room tomorrow, you won't get a cent of the final balance.”
The florist stammered an apology and hurried away.
Victoria turned to her maid of honor, sipping a glass of sparkling water. “Honestly, planning a wedding is like commanding an army of toddlers. If Daniel weren't worth six billion dollars, I’d have eloped in Saint-Tropez six months ago.”
“Well, you certainly played your cards right,” her friend laughed, adjusting her diamond tennis bracelet. “From a struggling PR executive to mistress of the Castellan estate. In four days, half the city will be bowing to you.”
“Not mistress, darling,” Victoria corrected with a sharp, triumphant smile. “Wife.”
She glanced at the grand grandfather clock standing by the double doors. It was 8:00 PM. Daniel was supposed to have returned from his corporate audit in Oak Brook three hours ago. He hadn't answered her texts, which was unusual, but she wasn't worried. Daniel was a creature of duty. He would never miss a wedding rehearsal. He was probably stuck dealing with some minor logistics crisis at the data center.
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors at the end of the ballroom swung open.
Victoria turned, her face melting into her signature practiced smile, ready to offer a soft, sympathetic greeting for his long day.
The smile died instantly on her lips.
It wasn't just Daniel who walked through the doors.
Behind him came four uniformed Chicago police officers, led by Lieutenant Vance, followed closely by Private Investigator Renata Cole carrying a thick stack of manila folders.
Daniel did not wear his usual tailored suit jacket. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his tie was gone, and his face was carved from dark, unyielding granite. There was something terrifying in his eyes—a cold, empty fury that made the wedding coordinators freeze in their tracks.
“Daniel?” Victoria stepped forward, her voice trembling slightly with manufactured confusion. “What is this? Why are there police officers in the house? Is there an emergency at the downtown tower?”
Daniel stopped ten feet away from her. The silence in the ballroom became absolute. The string quartet in the corner stopped playing mid-note.
“The only emergency is in Kane County, Victoria,” Daniel said. His voice was dangerously quiet, cutting through the scent of expensive orchids like a razor.
Victoria’s breath hitched, but she forced a light, dismissive laugh. “Kane County? What on earth are you talking about? We have the rehearsal dinner with the mayor’s family in an hour. Darling, you look exhausted. Go upstairs, change your shirt, and let’s—'
“She’s alive, Victoria.”
The words dropped into the room like lead weights.
Victoria blinked. Her carefully constructed expression flickered for a microsecond—just long enough for panic to flash across her pale blue eyes before she slammed her mental shutters down.
“Who is alive?” she asked, tilting her head with innocent bewilderment. “What are you talking about, Daniel? Have you been drinking?”
“Elena,” Daniel said, taking one slow, deliberate step toward her. “Elena Ruiz. The woman you claimed resigned and moved to Mexico two years ago. The woman you actually had kidnapped, bound, and locked in a rotting dairy barn three hours outside the city so she couldn't warn me about who you really are.”
The color drained from Victoria’s face so fast it looked as though someone had struck her with a white sheet.
May you like
“That’s... that’s insane,” she stammered, her voice rising an octave, losing its polished composure. “Some crazy person told you some absurd story—!”
“Lieutenant,” Daniel said without breaking eye contact with his fiancée. “Place her under arrest.”
Related Stories
