Chapter 4 - The Shattered Glass
The toast was the moment of truth. I didn't wait for the best man or the formalities. I walked up to the stage, took the microphone from the trembling DJ, and tapped it. The sharp feedback silenced the room instantly.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," I began, my voice clear and steady. "I’m here today because Adrian invited me to witness a new beginning. He wanted me to see his 'success' with my own eyes. And who am I to deny the truth?"
I tapped a button on the laptop I had connected to the projector. The giant screen behind me flashed with evidence. It wasn't the DNA test—not yet. It was the financial audit. Records of transfers, email threads between Celeste and a private banker detailing the theft, and the exact dates the funds were moved from my private accounts into their offshore ones.
Gasps echoed through the room. Celeste went deathly pale, her hand flying to her throat, her champagne glass slipping from her fingers and shattering on the floor. Adrian bolted toward the stage, his face a mask of blind rage. "Turn that off! Security! Get her off the stage! She’s crazy!"
"Wait!" I shouted, holding up my hand to stop the security guards who were hesitant to touch me while the CEO of the industry’s biggest firm was watching. "There’s more."
I pulled out the DNA test and held it up like a holy relic. I walked right up to Adrian, who looked ready to snap. "You told everyone I was broken. You told everyone I was the reason we didn't have a family. But the truth is, Adrian, you just didn't deserve a legacy. You didn't deserve a child who would share your name."
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I handed him the paper. He read it, his eyes darting back and forth, his face losing all color. His hands began to shake uncontrollably. "This… this is forged. This is impossible. You’re lying!"
"My daughter was born four days ago, Adrian," I said, my voice echoing in the hall. "She has my eyes. She has the health you said I lacked. And she has my last name. She is my victory, and you will never have the honor of being a part of her life."
