Chapter 13
268words
I severed all contact methods. I might as well have vanished from the earth.
His wedding with Sophia proceeded as scheduled—obscenely lavish.
My father, who always claimed he owed my mother, still favored Sophia.
He prepared a generous dowry, booked the city's most prestigious hotel, and proudly announced to the world how lavishly he was marrying off "his daughter."
On the wedding day, Sophia wore an astronomically expensive gown, beaming as she clutched Gregory's arm. Gregory stood in his formal suit, smug smile in place, no trace of his hospital room regret.
"The groom may now kiss the bride..."
Before the officiant finished speaking, the image on the banquet hall screen suddenly changed!
First came Sophia's seductive purr: "Greg, why stay with Brooke? She won't even let you touch her..."
Then Gregory's tearful hospital confession: "Being with her was a mistake! I regret it! She's crazy! Give me another chance, and I'll cut her off immediately!"
Audio clip after audio clip, alongside carefully collected photos, exploded like bombs throughout the lavish venue.
The entire hall erupted!
Whispers turned to gasps, then to shocked outcries.
Reporters' cameras clicked frantically, capturing the frozen, pale-faced couple on stage and the spectacular color changes on my father and stepmother's faces—from red to green to ghostly white.
...
The fallout was catastrophic. The Baileys' reputation collapsed overnight. Someone leaked that the dignified William Bailey had cheated during my mother's pregnancy, and after his wife died in childbirth, the mistress and her daughter inherited everything. Companies suspended partnerships, the Baileys' stock plummeted for days, and their market value evaporated.
