The Billionaire Married the Wrong Twin

Chapter 3: Seventy-Two Hours

The room fell deathly silent.

Lillian stared at the photograph in Damien's hand.

Her blood turned cold.

Sophia was tied to a chair inside what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Her face was pale, her hair was a mess, and her frightened eyes were fixed on the camera.

Beside her, a red digital timer flashed.

71:59:47

It was already counting down.

Damien's jaw tightened.

"What is this?"

Lillian could no longer hold back.

Tears streamed down her face.

"They kidnapped her."

Damien slowly turned to look at her.

"You knew."

She nodded weakly.

"I had no choice."

His voice became colder.

"Start talking."

Lillian took a shaky breath and told him everything.

The unknown phone call.

The black van outside the church.

The threats.

The photos.

The message ordering her to marry him.

When she finished, the room was silent again.

Damien's face showed no emotion.

"So..."

"You lied to me from the moment we met."

"I was trying to save my sister!"

She cried.

"I didn't want this marriage."

"I begged them to let her go."

"But they said if I refused..."

"...they would kill her."

For the first time, Damien noticed the fear in her eyes wasn't fake.

She wasn't acting.

She was terrified.

He looked back at the photograph.

"They planned this."

Lillian nodded.

"They knew Sophia and I are identical."

"They knew everyone would believe I was her."

Damien placed the photograph on the table.

"They're not after you."

"They're after me."

Lillian frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"No one kidnaps the future Mrs. Ashford unless they want something from the Ashford family."

Before either of them could speak again, Marcus burst into the room.

"Sir!"

Damien looked up.

"What happened?"

"We found something."

Marcus handed him a tablet.

"It's from the church's security cameras."

Damien pressed play.

The footage showed Sophia entering the bridal suite.

Five minutes later...

A man wearing a delivery uniform pushed a flower cart into the hallway.

His face was hidden beneath a cap.

He stopped outside the bridal suite.

Less than two minutes later...

He walked away.

The flower cart was gone.

So was Sophia.

Marcus paused the video.

"He never appeared on any other camera."

Lillian stared at the screen.

"He hid her inside the flower cart."

Marcus nodded.

"Professional."

Damien's eyes darkened.

"This wasn't random."

"They planned every second."

---

Thirty minutes later...

Ashford Manor's private security team filled the conference room.

Maps covered the table.

Photos of Sophia were pinned to a board.

Damien stood at the head of the room.

"I want every warehouse, factory, and abandoned building within fifty miles searched."

One guard hesitated.

"There are hundreds, sir."

"Then don't sleep until you've searched every one."

"Yes, sir."

Marcus added another file to the table.

"We also checked the guest list."

"Nothing unusual."

"No one left early."

Damien folded his arms.

"They're smarter than that."

Lillian remained quiet.

She couldn't stop staring at the countdown in the photo.

Every second felt like a knife twisting inside her chest.

Seventy-one hours...

Soon it would become seventy...

Then sixty...

She couldn't lose Sophia.

She wouldn't.

---

Later that night...

Unable to sleep, Lillian walked onto the balcony outside the bedroom.

The cold wind brushed against her face.

She looked toward the city lights.

"Please stay alive..."

She whispered.

"I'll bring you home."

A voice behind her interrupted the silence.

"You blame yourself."

She turned.

Damien stood in the doorway.

"I should have protected her."

She lowered her head.

"When we were children, I always promised I'd keep Sophia safe."

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"I failed."

Damien walked beside her.

"You didn't kidnap her."

"No."

"But if I had stayed with her..."

"This wouldn't have happened."

For a moment...

Neither of them spoke.

Then Damien quietly said,

"When I was sixteen..."

"My father was kidnapped."

Lillian looked at him in surprise.

"He survived."

"But after that day..."

"I learned something."

"What?"

Damien looked out into the darkness.

"Guilt solves nothing."

"Only action does."

Lillian wiped away her tears.

"So what do we do now?"

Damien met her eyes.

"We find whoever started this."

"And we make them regret it."

For the first time since the nightmare began...

Lillian felt she wasn't facing it alone.

---

The next morning...

Marcus rushed into the dining room before breakfast.

"Sir."

"We received another package."

Everyone immediately stood.

The small brown box had no sender's name.

Marcus carefully opened it while security officers watched.

Inside...

There was a silver necklace.

Lillian gasped.

"My necklace..."

Damien looked at her.

"You've seen it before?"

She nodded.

"My mother gave it to me before she died."

"It disappeared years ago."

Marcus lifted it carefully.

A tiny folded note was hidden inside the pendant.

Damien unfolded it.

Only six words were written.

She was never your sister.

Lillian felt the world spin around her.

"What..."

She grabbed the note from Damien's hand.

"No..."

"That's impossible."

Sophia was her twin.

They had grown up together.

They shared birthdays.

They looked exactly alike.

How could someone write something so cruel?

Before anyone could speak...

Marcus's phone rang.

He answered.

His face immediately lost all color.

"Sir..."

Damien frowned.

"What is it?"

Marcus swallowed hard.

"Our men just found the black van."

Lillian stepped forward.

"Where's Sophia?"

Marcus looked at her with pity.

"The van..."

"...was completely empty."