Chapter 4 - The Envelope on the Threshold
Alexander stood up slowly, stepping over the ruined cake and walking cautiously toward the open doorway. The guests held their breath, pressing against one another inside the ballroom, watching his every move.
He stepped out into the hallway, knelt down, and picked up the white envelope. There was no return address. Written across the front in neat, typed capital letters was a single line:
FOR ALEXANDER VANCE — THE GAME HAS JUST BEGUN.
He tore open the flap and pulled out a single sheet of heavy cardstock. Clipped to the paper was an old, faded photograph of Elena Vance smiling in her hospital bed, taken just two days before her supposed "cardiac arrest." Beneath the photo was a printed message:
She asked too many questions about the corporate restructuring funds. We silenced her once. We almost silenced you tonight. Watch your daughter, Alexander. Next time, the cake won't be the only thing that falls.*
Alexander’s hands shook so violently the paper crinkled loudly in the quiet corridor.
The corporate restructuring funds. Three years ago, right before Elena died, she had been auditing the philanthropic foundation accounts of Vance Technologies—funds that were supposed to be managed by the board of directors, including Alexander’s ruthless cousin, Richard Vance. Alexander had been too buried in tech development to pay attention to the financial audits, trusting his family completely.
Richard.
It had all been orchestrated by Richard from the very beginning.
“Alexander!” Vivienne called out anxiously from the doorway, her bridal veil trailing in the spilled buttercream. “What is that? Who is it from?”
Alexander folded the letter, slipped it into his inner jacket pocket, and turned around. The grief and shock he had felt moments ago were completely gone, replaced by the cold, razor-sharp focus of a tech billionaire whose family had just been directly threatened by a domestic serpent.
“Vivienne,” Alexander said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Cancel the honeymoon. Cancel the press releases. The wedding is over.”
“Over?!” Vivienne shrieked, her face turning crimson. “Are you out of your mind?! Someone tried to poison us, and you want to call off the wedding over a note?!”
May you like
“Someone murdered my first wife in a hospital bed, and they just tried to kill my daughter,” Alexander shot back, towering over her with an intensity that made her step back in fright. “I am not putting Chloe in the crosshairs of a corporate assassination ring for another second. If you want to stay here and salvage the party, be my guest. I’m taking my daughter home.”
Without waiting for her reply, Alexander walked back into the ballroom, scooped six-year-old Chloe up into his arms, and strode straight toward the private service elevators, leaving the multi-million-dollar wedding in absolute, smoking ruins.
