Chapter 1 The Blood-Stained Wedding Veil
White roses bloomed everywhere in the wedding hall, clean and blinding.
Today was my wedding day.
I was Elara Hale, twenty-three, the only heir of Hale Group. After three years of loving and trusting Ethan Carter, the man I’d given everything to, I was finally going to walk down the aisle with him.
I’d handed him core project rights. I’d defended him when others whispered about his poor background. I’d even begged my sick father to trust him.
I truly thought I was marrying my future.
A staff member told me Ethan was waiting in the top-floor lounge, needing to fix a last-minute wedding detail.
I adjusted my veil, my heart light and fluttery, and headed down the empty corridor alone.
The lounge door was half open.
Two voices slipped out before I could step inside.
My feet froze mid-step.
Ethan’s tone was cold, greedy, nothing like the gentle warmth he’d always given me.
“The second Elara signs the final equity paper today, Hale Group is ours. Her father’s already finished—fraud charges stick, his reputation’s dead, and he’s bedridden. No one can protect her anymore.”
My blood ran cold.
Then came Lila’s voice.
My cousin. The girl our family raised for more than ten years. The one who clung to me every day, who called me sister and smiled sweetly in front of everyone.
Her laugh was sharp and cruel.
“Three years of pretending, and she never suspected a thing. So naive, so stupid. Once the wedding’s done, we’ll get rid of her quietly. The cliff behind this hotel is perfect. Her body’ll never be found. Everyone will just think she ran away because of her father’s crimes.”
I stopped breathing.
For a full three seconds, everything turned quiet.
My ears rang. All the wedding music, the guest chatter, the world around me faded into a distant hum.
The diamond veil slipped from my trembling fingers and clattered on the marble floor.
The noise pulled them out of their conversation.
The door was shoved open hard.
Ethan and Lila stood side by side, all pretense of kindness completely gone. No warmth, no tenderness—only pure, unmasked malice.
Ethan’s eyes swept over me, cold and unfeeling.
“I guess there’s no need to hide it now, Elara.”
Lila stepped forward, her gaze burning with years of suppressed jealousy.
“Why do you have it all? Money, family, status… even the man I want. You’ve never earned any of it. You’re just lucky.”
Every sweet memory of the past three years shattered in my head.
Late-night comfort, gentle promises, endless care—all of it was a lie. A long, cruel trap just to steal my family, my future, my life.
I snapped out of my shock and turned to run.
I needed proof. I needed to tell someone.
But Ethan grabbed my wrist in an iron grip, yanking me back. Lila blocked the corridor exit, cutting off every chance I had to escape.
“Let go!” I struggled, my voice shaking. “You’re both insane!”
“Insane?” Ethan sneered, dragging me toward the terrace. The sea wind crashed over me, cold and salty. “We’re just finally taking what we deserve. You’re the one who’s been living a perfect, undeserved life.”
The terrace railing was right in front of us.
Far below, dark waves crashed violently against sharp rocks. The drop was deadly.
I begged. I reminded them of everything my family had done for them. I pleaded for mercy.
But mercy was never in their plan.
Lila grabbed a fistful of my hair, forcing me to tilt backward. Ethan pressed his palm hard against my back.
“Goodbye, Elara.”
A brutal shove.
My body lost all balance.
I fell.
The freezing sea swallowed me instantly. Pain exploded through every bone in my body. Darkness rushed in, swallowing my vision bit by bit.
My consciousness blurred.
But one thought burned clear and sharp in the last second before I blacked out.
If I survive this.
If I get another chance.
I will ruin them.
I will make Ethan and Lila pay ten times over for everything they’ve done.
