Chapter 5 - The Grand Betrayal and the Groom's Exit
Sutton’s manicured hands flew to her mouth, her eyes darting wildly across the horrified faces of the three hundred elite guests staring up at her in utter disbelief. ""It's a fake!"" Sutton screamed, her voice cracking with hysterical panic as she gripped her heavy lace veil. ""It's artificial intelligence! Fallon generated that audio to ruin my wedding out of jealousy because she's crippled and unloved! Mom, tell them it's a lie!"" But Althia couldn't speak; she was slumped against the altar table, clutching her chest as her social standing crumbled into dust in a matter of seconds. Before Sutton could take another step down the aisle, the side doors opened once more, and Alden stepped into the spotlight. He wasn't wearing his groomsman boutonnière. Instead, he carried a heavy laptop bag and a thick stack of printed legal documents. The absolute silence that followed his entry was deafening. Alden walked past my wheelchair without looking at my parents, stopped at the base of the altar, and turned to face his frantic, trembling bride. ""It's not AI, Sutton,"" Alden said, his voice cold, steady, and loud enough for every microphone in the room to pick up. ""I was standing right behind the hydrangeas when you said it. I heard every single word. And I watched you deliberately shove my future wife down those marble stairs."" Sutton’s jaw dropped, her face draining of every last drop of color. ""Alden... baby... no, listen to me, you don't understand—"" ""I understand perfectly,"" Alden interrupted, holding up a single piece of paper. ""Not only am I calling off this wedding permanently, but my family's legal team has just filed a comprehensive fraud investigation against your parents. They used forged signatures on corporate loan guarantees tied to my family's venture capital fund to purchase this very resort."" He tossed the papers directly onto the altar at my father's feet. ""You thought you were marrying into a fortune to cover your bankruptcy. Instead, you just walked yourself straight into a federal indictment."" The guests began murmuring angrily, whispering behind their designer fans and reaching for their phones to record the historic spectacle. Stellin staggered backward, tripping over a floral arrangement and crashing hard onto the floor. Sutton let out a piercing, bird-like scream of rage, lifting her heavy white wedding dress and storming down the altar stairs toward me like a furious swan. ""You ruined everything!"" she shrieked, raising her hand to strike me across the face. But before her hand could even graze my cheek, Vesper stepped smoothly between us, catching Sutton's wrist in an iron grip and shoving her back with effortless disdain. ""Touch her again,"" Vesper said quietly, his voice carrying the terrifying weight of a billionaire predator, ""and I'll make sure you spend your honeymoon in a federal penitentiary.""
