REVENGE OF THE HEIRESS

CHAPTER3

LUCAS

The wedding hall was prepared exquisitely. The Guests were busy talking and drinking champagne while we were waiting for the wedding to progress.

“Where on earth is Ana?” I muttered, playing with my hands while looking at the time.

“Don’t worry, there’s still time.”

“There is no time, she’s late,” I grumbled, shooting an angry look at Liana and Hannah.

“Lucas, please, there is no need to be like this. Anastasia is most likely just doing some last-minute touch-ups on her face or dress. You know that she tends to be a bit of a diva.” Liana said, trying to calm me down.

Looking around the crowd, I made a noise in the back of my throat. "Everyone has been waiting here for so long. I want you to call her. Right away."

They were unable to reach her several times. At the end of each call, it went to voicemail instead. They had been trying her number for some time but there was no response. I began to panic.

If this wedding didn't happen, everything I had planned for would all be a waste.

The properties, the money, everything gone if we couldn't get Anastasia. “She still isn’t picking up,” she reported, looking back and forth around the crowd to see if she was there.

I gritted my teeth in frustration, already losing my cool.

“She wouldn’t…leave, would she?” U said, mostly to himself, though I looked at Liana hoping for a response.

Liana squinted, her arms folded across her chest. “Why should she? Anastasia might be stupid but she is not foolish enough to play with her wedding. She has been looking forward to this day forever. Besides, what reason would she have to abandon her wedding? She's probably just running late.”

Hannah's expression hardened. “To her wedding? She wouldn’t be this brazen as to humiliate us.”

I glanced at them. “If this is some trick on her part, I swear...”

Before I could even finish that sentence, the grand doors were thrown open and everyone turned.

A man in a black suit and a mask walked into the hall and swaggered down the aisle.

The audience whispered and looked around in puzzlement but the man kept on walking towards the front of the hall where there was a microphone.

Everybody in the auditorium went quiet waiting for what he had to say.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,” the man spoke.

“I have a message from the bride who is running late. She sends an apology ahead of time. Before she gets here, she wants you all to see a very important video.” The man pointed towards a large screen placed at the end of the hall.

“She wants to display a video showing how much she loves her family.”

Hearing this made me feel reassured but I couldn’t help but wonder who this guy was. I had never seen him before.

Liana moved herself a bit closer to me. “See? I told you she wouldn’t just go off on us. She probably was just running late. She is a fool and would never leave her own you, especially on her wedding day.”

The room darkened a little bit for a better view, and the screen came on. The audience became quiet, as they directed their focus back to the video that started playing.

Initially, the display was filled with a beautiful image of the ocean with the waves hitting the shores and soft music playing in the background.

Then came a video that showed Anastasia and me in bed together.

And then after this, the video took a ghastly turn. It showed the part where Liana and I talked about our plan against Anastasia and why I was marrying her.

It is also heard in the video where Liana said her mother was a part of this plan. Everything was displayed one by one, including when we were busy making out with each other.

The audience was shocked, some had their mouths fully opened, while some had their eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. Everyone was whispering and staring in our direction. I turned white with a look of horror and rage on his face.

“W-what w-was that?” Hanna croaked, horrified as she held onto Liana.

I faced her in shock. “I can’t believe this is happening. How did this get out?” Liana turned to me.

“Does she think for one second that you love her?” The video was still playing in the background.

“Anastasia is such an airhead. By the time we get to use her money, how that b***h was an annoyance will be considered history.”

Hannah gasped, one hand covering her mouth. She tried to act like she didn’t know all of what was going on and her acting was quite commendable.

I spun on his heel, my voice filled with rage. “Shut it down! Immediately!” I screamed, yet it appeared no one was manning the controls of the display.

I was so furious searching in every direction, but every one I tried asking for help from, simply looked away.

A loud chime sounded in the hall and I glanced down at my phone to see that a message had come through. It was from Anastasia.

I opened it only to wish I hadn’t done so at all.

The message read:

I have just cashed out all the shares that I had in your company. I sincerely hope you live in misery for the rest of your life.

For a long time, I only looked at my screen with an expression that showed fury.

“No!” I exclaimed, while my hands trembled, clenching into tight fists.

From the podium, the man in the mask coughed and this restored the attention of everyone in the hall.

When everywhere became quiet, he raised his hands to his face and pulled off his mask.

A screen in the room displayed Anastasia’s face.

“Shocked?” she said, her voice cold. “You all seem to be surprised that I found out. How…so very interesting.”

Liana’s face reddened as she charged forward and reached out, trying to catch hold of Anastasia. “You can’t do this!” she said, hissing impotently. “You’re going to throw everything into chaos!”

I charged toward her. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” I spat. “You’ve destroyed everything we worked for, everything, Anastasia!"

Anastasia arched an eyebrow and smiled. "What we constructed?" She began to laugh, albeit without mirth. "The only thing we ever constructed was your fiction. And I refuse to play any more of your games."

Hannah emerged from her corner. “Anastasia, sweetheart, please. I’d rather we not do this in public. We can resolve this matter at home, as a family—”

“Family?”

Anastasia’s words dropped down, she could not believe what her stepmother had just said.

“You are not my family. You have schemed against me, abused me, and sought to subjugate me for your benefit. I will no longer be your chess piece.”

My hands formed into fists. “You think you can just get on and go? After everything we did for you?”

“Oh, I’m not just walking away,” she said, her tone calm. “I’m flying away,”

Before anyone could stop her, Anastasia spun on her heel and marched toward the doors.

The three of us rushed to catch up with her but she was way too fast.

A private jet was parked outside on the runway, its engines active.

We were almost close to her but she was already inside the jet, offering glances to us while we yelled at her and ran in her direction.

“Here’s the last one, the best one!” she shouted as she stepped onto the jet.

The jet’s doors shut and the engines roared more as it took off. I could see the happiness on her face while we miserably looked in her direction.