Chapter 5 - The Wedding at the Riviera Estate
The afternoon sun blazed over the grand lawns of the Ashford Riviera Estate.
Four hundred guests sat in gilded chairs arranged on the manicured grass overlooking the Pacific. Soft string quartet music filled the air. Camera crews from major financial networks were stationed along the perimeter, broadcasting live coverage of the high-society event.
Front and center sat Eleanor Cross, wearing a ice-blue silk suit, her hands folded neatly over a diamond-encrusted handbag. Beside her sat Richard Ashford, beaming with arrogant satisfaction as he shook hands with neighboring venture capitalists.
Inside the estate's private bridal suite, the atmosphere was dead silent.
Caroline stood before a full-length mirror, stunning in a minimalist satin gown. She wasn't holding flowers; she was checking an encrypted e-mail on her phone.
"Audio check complete," Julian whispered from the doorway. "The press feeds are locked on our secondary server. Once the stream starts, no one on Eleanor’s team can cut the broadcast."
I stood near the window, wearing an elegant dusty-rose gown. Beside me, Emma and Sophie were dressed in matching cream flower girl dresses, their hair styled in loose curls, holding small baskets of rose petals.
Nathaniel walked into the room, wearing a tailored black tuxedo.
He didn't look like a nervous groom. He looked like a commander stepping onto a battlefield.
He walked straight past Caroline, straight past Julian, and stopped in front of me and our daughters.
He reached out, taking my hand, lifting it to his lips. "Are you ready?"
"I've been ready for eight years," I said softly.
He looked down at Emma and Sophie, kneeling before them. "You two have the most important job today. When the doors open, you walk down the aisle together. Don't look at the crowd. Just look at me."
"We know, Daddy," Sophie said proudly, using the word for the first time. Nathaniel’s eyes shimmered with emotion, but he held himself together.
The trumpets sounded across the lawn. The wedding ceremony was beginning.
The doors swung open.
The string quartet shifted into a grand processional. The crowd stood up, turning toward the back of the aisle, expecting the traditional entrance of the bridal party.
Instead, Emma and Sophie stepped onto the white runner first.
A murmur ran through the front rows. Guests leaned in, staring at the twin girls.
Eleanor Cross’s smile froze instantly. Her eyes widened in horror as she stared at the two seven-year-old girls walking down the aisle. The striking gray eyes with dark outer rings... the cleft chin... the undeniable likeness of Nathaniel Cross walking toward her.
Beside her, Richard Ashford frowned. "Who are those children?"
Emma and Sophie reached the front of the altar, dropping their rose petals, then stepped to the side where Nathaniel was waiting.
Then, instead of the officiant speaking, Caroline took the wireless microphone from the podium.
The music stopped abruptly.
The four hundred guests blinked in confusion. The news cameras zoomed in.
"Welcome, everyone," Caroline’s voice boomed across the powerful sound system, echoing off the stone walls of the estate. "Thank you for joining us today to witness a union."
She looked directly at her father, then at Eleanor Cross.
"However, this is not a union of marriage," Caroline announced clearly. "Today, both families must confront a deception that has lasted eight years."
Panic erupted in the front row. Richard Ashford stood up, his face red with fury. "Caroline! What is the meaning of this foolishness?! Sit down!"
"Security, cut the microphones!" Eleanor screamed, jumping to her feet, her voice cracking with sudden hysteria.
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"The microphones are locked to a private satellite feed, Eleanor," Nathaniel’s voice cut through the air as he stepped to Caroline’s side, taking a second microphone. "And so are the giant screens behind you."
Suddenly, the massive sixty-foot LED displays framing the altar clicked on.
