Chapter 20
621words
She was in a white wedding dress, standing beside Kieran. They made a stunning couple, catching the eye of everyone around them.
"The wedding's in half an hour," Kieran said, looking down at Gwyneth's high heels. "Are your feet hurting from those?"
Gwyneth shook her head, smiling sweetly. "Nope! My feet are fine. I'm just really happy."
Roderick and Felicia looked at her, grinning with pride. They'd watched her grow up and knew she had a heart of gold.
Money was never an issue for the Lauders, and they'd hoped for a long time that Gwyneth would marry into the family. Now, it was finally happening.
Meanwhile, Asher was geared up with a mask and a cap. He quietly snuck into the hotel's basement parking lot. He slipped into the elevator with a bag of powder in his hand.
Half an hour later, the officiant took the stage, and the ceremony began. Franklin took Gwyneth's hand, walked her over to Kieran, and handed her to him.
Once Gwyneth and Kieran had given their speeches, they downed their drinks, and the meal was served. The big screen lit up with their wedding photos as they toasted every guest.
As the guests dug into their meals, they suddenly clutched their stomachs, groaning in pain. Gwyneth and Kieran were in shock.
"What's wrong?" Kieran asked the hotel manager.
The manager had a thought. He grabbed the phone and called the police. "I think someone's poisoned the food!"
Gwyneth shot a nervous look at Kieran. "Could it be Asher?"
Kieran told the manager to pull up today's security footage and check if Asher had been at the hotel.
The police showed up quickly. All five of them watched the footage and saw Asher had come from the basement parking lot. He'd snuck into the kitchen and poisoned the food.
The police wasted no time. Half an hour later, they nabbed Asher as he was about to board a plane. With solid evidence of him trying to poison 60 people, the officers coldly told him he could be facing life in prison.
Asher's legs buckled, and he shook his head frantically. "No! I didn't poison all the food. I only messed with the Paynes' and the Lauders' food. And it wasn't even poison—just a strong laxative."
He wasn't dumb. He'd already consulted a lawyer and knew mass poisoning would get him a life sentence. So he'd only gone after the Paynes and the Lauders to make them look bad.
Asher figured if he got caught, he'd only get six months at most. He thought he could tough it out.
In a fit of rage, Greta slapped him. "Asher! It's really you! Frank and I have been good to you, and this is how you repay us?"
Franklin's face darkened. "If we hadn't let Wyn marry you, none of this would've gone down!"
Asher sneered. He dropped the act and yelled, "Yeah, you've all been right! You've been looking down on me this whole time! You're just a bunch of gold diggers trying to get in with the Lauders. If I were Kieran, would you still treat me this way?"
After a beat, he pointed to Gwyneth in her wedding dress. "Why won't you even give me a chance? We were together for 12 years. You knew Kieran loved you and wanted someone better, didn't you? You and your folks are nothing but gold diggers!"
Gwyneth slapped Asher across the face. "Gold diggers? Who lived together with you in the basement for three years? Asher, you're still not seeing it. Your biggest problem is that you always think you're right!"
