Chapter 7
The ballroom was suffocating beneath the weight of the revelation. The wealthy guests, previously eager to whisper, were now completely silent, realizing they were locked inside a room with a cornered predator. The Bride’s groom had backed away entirely, his hands raised in surrender, wanting nothing to do with the woman he had married an hour prior.
"He confessed?" Caroline asked, her eyes never leaving her sister’s trembling form.
"Sang like a bird," Elias confirmed, tapping the clear plastic evidence bag containing the burner phone. "He gave us the text messages. The encrypted emails. The audio recordings of the negotiations. He kept everything, Isabella, as an insurance policy. He knew a wealthy socialite would throw him under the bus the second the heat came down."
"Why?" the Father croaked, turning to Isabella, tears tracking freely down his wrinkled cheeks. "Why in God's name would you do this? We have enough money for ten lifetimes. Caroline never asked you for a dime!"
"It wasn't about the money!" Isabella snapped, her facade finally cracking entirely. Her posture shifted from terrified victim to feral cornered animal. She glared at her father, her teeth bared. "It was about you! It was always about you and her!"
"What are you talking about?" the Father asked, stunned.
"She was the golden child!" Isabella spat, pointing a shaking finger at Caroline. "She got the company. She got the board seats. She got mother's emeralds in the will! I was just the pretty younger sister meant to marry well and stay out of the way! I deserved the company, Dad! I deserved to be the heir!"
"So you decided to slaughter her for a board seat?" Caroline asked calmly, her breathing slow and measured, a direct contrast to Isabella’s erratic hyperventilation. "You paid a man to strangle me in my own car and push it into the ocean, so you could wear a white dress and play CEO?"
"You didn't deserve it!" Isabella screamed, grabbing a heavy silver candelabra from the head table. "You were weak! You wanted to give our assets to charity! You were going to ruin our legacy!"
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"Legacy?" the Father whispered, completely broken. "You murdered your sister... for an inheritance I hadn't even signed over yet."
"She’s not dead!" Isabella shrieked, wielding the candelabra like a weapon. "Look at her! She’s fine! She’s standing right there ruining my life! Arrest her for trespassing!"
