Chapter 2 - The Ceremony Without a GroomRachel’s voice came through the phone.
“Mary, are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need security?”
“Yes.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“You cannot revoke the transfer.”
Mary held up one hand, stopping him without touching him.
“The transfer becomes permanent after the marriage certificate is signed.”
His silence confirmed it.
The agreement joining Collins Capital with Brooks Meridian had been designed around their marriage. Ethan would receive temporary voting authority over a major block of Mary’s hospitality shares.
In return, Collins Capital would acquire part of his company.
Mary had trusted the structure because independent lawyers and directors had reviewed it.
But only Ethan knew how desperately he needed the deal completed.
Vanessa stared at him.
“You told me the shares were already yours.”
Ethan finally turned toward her.
“Stay out of this.”
Mary almost laughed.
Vanessa had been invited into the bed but apparently not into the financial conspiracy.
Hotel security arrived outside the suite.
Mary opened the door and walked into the corridor without looking back.
Her maid of honor, Julia Bennett, stood near the elevators with tears in her eyes.
“What happened?”
“The wedding is canceled.”
Julia glanced toward the closed suite.
“Do you want me to tell everyone?”
“No. I’ll do it.”
Mary entered the ballroom seventeen minutes later.
The orchestra began playing automatically when the doors opened.
Hundreds of guests rose, expecting to see a bride walking toward her future.
Mary stopped at the beginning of the aisle.
“There will be no wedding today.”
The music died.
Ethan’s mother, Lorraine Brooks, stood from the front row.
“What has Mary done?” she demanded.
Mary noticed the wording.
Not what happened.
Not where Ethan was.
What had Mary done?
“The business transaction connected to this marriage has also been suspended,” Mary announced.
Several Brooks Meridian executives immediately reached for their phones.
Lorraine’s face turned white.
Mary understood then.
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The wedding had never been merely a family celebration.
It had been a deadline.
