Chapter 12 - The Wedding That Became a Trap
Preston stopped the wedding.
Not publicly.
He asked the musicians to pause and went upstairs.
Emma stood in her dress.
Beautiful.
Confused.
“What happened?”
He played the recording.
Serena revealed Grace had once been involved with Arthur Hale.
Emma might be Arthur’s biological daughter.
If true, Emma would be Preston’s half-sister.
Emma nearly collapsed.
The wedding could not continue.
DNA testing became urgent.
The following days were agony.
Preston and Emma stayed apart physically.
Oliver sensed everything.
Then results arrived.
No biological relationship.
Grace’s diary explained the confusion.
Arthur had protected Grace, but they were never lovers.
Victor manufactured rumors to destroy trust between the sisters.
Serena had recorded the warning before learning the truth.
A later recording corrected it.
Someone had deliberately sent only the first tape.
“Who?” Emma asked.
The answer came quickly.
Michael Avery’s killer had been identified.
A former employee of Dominic.
Even from prison, Dominic was still trying to destroy Preston.
He had arranged the murder before his arrest.
The final trap had been emotional.
If he could not kill Preston, he wanted to poison whatever Preston loved.
Preston visited Dominic once.
No threats.
No violence.
He simply said, “You don’t own any part of my future.”
Then he left.
Emma worried the wedding had become cursed.
Preston disagreed.
“Then we choose another day.”
“Another place?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“The ballroom?”
“The ballroom.”
But one final issue remained.
The marriage promise.
Emma hated that strangers believed she had earned Preston by making Oliver speak.
So Preston called a press conference.
“I made a reckless promise when my son was suffering,” he said. “Emma Carter owes me nothing because she helped him. She will never be payment for a bargain.”
Emma watched from behind the cameras.
“If she marries me, it will be because she chooses me. And if she changes her mind, she remains family to my son for as long as she chooses.”
That night Emma kissed him.
“That was almost romantic.”
“Almost?”
“You held a press conference.”
“I’m learning.”
She laughed.
Then Nathan arrived carrying an evidence bag.
Michael’s belongings had been released.
Inside was a key.
It opened a private chapel beneath the old Hale estate.
Preston, Emma, and Nathan went there.
Behind the altar they found a final box belonging to Serena.
Inside were letters.
One for Oliver.
One for Preston.
One for Grace.
And one labeled:
FOR EMMA CARTER ON HER WEDDING DAY.
Emma stared at it.
“She knew my name.”
Preston’s skin prickled.
Emma opened the envelope.
The first sentence read:
Emma, if you are standing beside Preston when you read this, then Grace kept the promise we made before you were born.
Emma looked up.
“Before I was born?”
She continued reading.
Then her face went completely white.
“Preston.”
“What?”
She handed him the letter.
Halfway down the page was a sentence neither of them expected.
May you like
Grace Carter was not Emma’s biological mother.
And Serena had written the name of the woman who was.
