CHAPTER 3 – The Groom Returned Before the Wedding
CHAPTER 3 – The Groom Returned Before the Wedding
The private elevator rose without a sound.
Dominic stood alone inside, one hand in his coat pocket, the velvet ring box resting against his palm like a reminder of his own blindness.
Victor spoke into his earpiece.
"Team One, secure every exit. Team Two, no one enters or leaves the west wing without the boss's order."
Across the estate, magnetic locks clicked into place.
Ashford Hall had become a fortress.
No guest, servant, or accomplice would leave unnoticed.
Upstairs, the confrontation continued.
Celeste folded her arms and looked at Mara with open contempt.
"You've become very brave for a maid."
Mara ignored her.
Instead, she knelt beside Eleanor, checking the older woman's pulse.
Her fingers were gentle, practiced.
"Your oxygen level is dropping," she whispered.
Eleanor's breathing had become shallow after the assault.
"We need Dr. Collins."
Celeste laughed.
"No, you don't."
Mara slowly stood.
"Move."
"You don't give me orders."
"I'm asking for a doctor."
"And I'm telling you no."
Celeste leaned closer, lowering her voice.
"In four days, every person in this house answers to me."
"You won't."
The words escaped Mara before she realized she had spoken them aloud.
Celeste's eyes hardened.
"What did you say?"
"You won't become mistress of this house."
The room fell silent.
Even the maids outside the doorway stopped breathing.
Then Celeste smiled.
"Oh... I see."
She walked to a nearby antique table and picked up a crystal vase worth nearly thirty thousand dollars.
She turned it slowly in her hands.
"You know what people always believe?"
Mara said nothing.
"They always believe the rich."
Without warning—
Celeste hurled the vase against the wall beside the doorway.
It exploded into hundreds of glittering pieces.
The crash echoed through the hallway.
Every servant flinched.
Celeste screamed.
"Help!"
She stumbled backward, grabbing her own wrist.
"The maid attacked me!"
The servants stared in disbelief.
Mara's face turned pale.
"I didn't touch you."
"She's lying!" Celeste cried. "She threatened me! She threw the vase!"
Several employees exchanged nervous glances.
No one dared contradict the future Mrs. Ashford.
One older butler lowered his eyes.
"I'm... sorry, Miss Lane..."
Fear won.
Again.
The elevator doors opened.
Dominic stepped out.
Behind him came Victor and six members of the Ashford security unit, all dressed in black suits instead of tactical gear.
Their footsteps were silent on the marble floor.
No one in the hallway noticed them at first.
Celeste continued her performance.
"Call the police!"
She pointed dramatically at Mara.
"I want this thief arrested!"
A trembling maid whispered, "Miss Whitmore... perhaps we should—"
"NOW!"
The maid reached for her phone.
A deep voice interrupted.
"No one is calling anyone."
The hallway froze.
Every head turned.
Dominic Ashford stood at the end of the corridor.
Alive.
Present.
Watching.
The color drained from Celeste's face so quickly it looked as though someone had extinguished the blood beneath her skin.
"D... Dominic?"
She forced a laugh.
"I thought you were in London."
"I was."
He walked toward her slowly.
"Until I wasn't."
Each step echoed through the hallway.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Celeste recovered just enough to rush toward him.
"Oh thank God you're here!"
She grabbed his arm.
"That maid attacked me and frightened your mother!"
Dominic looked down at the hand clutching his sleeve.
Then calmly removed it.
Not roughly.
Simply...
Completely.
He walked past Celeste without another glance.
Straight to Eleanor.
His mother looked up with tears filling her tired eyes.
"My boy..."
Dominic knelt before her wheelchair.
He gently brushed silver hair away from the bruise on her cheek.
His jaw tightened.
"Who did this?"
Eleanor looked toward Celeste.
But before she could answer—
Celeste interrupted.
"She fell."
Dominic remained kneeling.
"Mother."
Another pause.
"You taught me that lying is a sin."
Eleanor's lips trembled.
"It... wasn't a fall."
The hallway became deathly silent.
Dominic rose.
He faced Celeste.
She forced another smile.
"Dominic, she's confused. You know the medication affects her memory."
Without speaking, Dominic raised one finger.
Victor understood immediately.
One of the security officers rolled a seventy-inch mobile monitor into the hallway.
Every servant looked at it in confusion.
The screen lit up.
Video began playing.
There was no sound for the first few seconds.
Only images.
Celeste entering Eleanor's bedroom.
The slap.
The spilled medicine.
The threats.
Then...
The audio activated.
"I have wasted three years pretending to adore you..."
"...After the wedding everything will belong to me..."
"...Old people die every day..."
"...I've already spoken to your physician..."
Every word echoed through the marble corridor.
The servants stared at the screen in horror.
One maid covered her mouth.
The elderly butler began shaking.
Mara looked at Dominic in complete disbelief.
He had seen everything.
The entire time.
Celeste stumbled backward.
"That's... that's fake."
Dominic finally spoke.
"My surveillance system records directly to six encrypted servers."
Another step toward her.
"It cannot be edited."
Another step.
"It cannot be erased."
Another.
"And it has already been copied to three secure locations."
Celeste's breathing quickened.
"You... you spied on me?"
Dominic's eyes became colder than winter.
"I protected my home."
May you like
Then his voice dropped to almost a whisper.
"You exposed yourself."
