Chapter 14 - THE WEDDING THAT EXPOSED EVERYTHING
The wedding was held at an enormous estate outside Chicago.
Politicians.
Billionaires.
Business leaders.
Cameras everywhere.
Nathan arrived with Emma.
Ethan and Noah stayed with security.
Emma held Nathan's arm.
“I don't know if I can do this.”
“You don't have to do it alone.”
Then the music began.
Everyone stood.
The flower girl appeared.
A little girl in a white dress.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
She looked exactly like Emma.
Emma stopped breathing.
“That's her.”
Nathan couldn't speak.
Lily walked down the aisle.
Victoria watched from the altar.
She smiled.
She knew.
At the end of the ceremony, Nathan approached her.
“You stole my daughter.”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
“You hid her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard was going to use her.”
“For what?”
“To force you to sign the trust.”
Nathan looked at Lily.
“She knows?”
“She knows nothing.”
Emma stepped forward.
“She's my daughter.”
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.”
Emma's eyes filled with tears.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Charles threatened to kill you.”
Emma stared.
Victoria continued.
“He believed your children were dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Because all three together could expose him.”
Nathan frowned.
“Expose him for what?”
Victoria looked toward the ballroom.
Then every screen suddenly turned on.
Documents appeared.
Bank transfers.
Secret recordings.
Hospital records.
Charles Harrison's voice.
Richard's voice.
Daniel's voice.
The entire room fell silent.
Victoria had released everything.
Charles's empire was finished.
Nathan looked at her.
“You planned this.”
“Yes.”
“But why involve the wedding?”
“Because everyone who mattered would be here.”
The screen changed.
A final video appeared.
Charles.
He looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, Nathan, you've already lost.”
Nathan's face hardened.
Charles continued.
“You think the children are your weakness.”
A pause.
“They're your greatest weapon.”
Then the video showed a bank account.
Twenty-eight billion dollars.
The trust.
And a transfer authorization.
Nathan's name.
But the transfer wasn't going to him.
It was going to Ethan.
Then Noah.
Then Lily.
Three equal shares.
The room erupted.
Reporters rushed forward.
Emma grabbed Lily.
The little girl looked confused.
“Mommy?”
Emma broke down.
She hugged her daughter.
“Yes.”
She whispered,
“I'm your mommy.”
Nathan knelt beside them.
For the first time, he saw his entire family together.
But Charles wasn't finished.
The ballroom doors opened.
Federal agents entered.
Behind them was Charles Harrison.
He was handcuffed.
But he was smiling.
Nathan stared.
Charles walked toward him.
“You think you've won.”
Nathan said nothing.
Charles leaned close.
“You still don't know why your mother really died.”
Nathan froze.
Charles smiled.
“Ask Lily.”
Nathan looked at the little girl.
Lily held a tiny pendant around her neck.
May you like
A pendant Nathan had seen before.
His mother's.
