Chapter 3

Seeing me agree, Ethan let out a derisive snort.

"Smart choice."

"If you'd listened from the start, you wouldn't have had to embarrass yourself."

Brooke immediately slipped off her scuffed, worn-out nude pumps and kicked them toward my feet.

"Here, Chloe, you can wear mine."

"They pinch a little, but it's better than walking barefoot down the aisle."

I stared at the peeling faux-leather shoes.

There was an ugly, prominent scuff mark across the front.

For the sake of the bigger picture, I had to swallow the disgust.

I jammed my feet into the shoes that were a full size too large and forced myself to stand.

The soles were rock-hard, digging painfully into the balls of my feet with every step.

Ethan adjusted his cuffs, thoroughly pleased with himself.

"Let's go, my lovely bride."

Stepping out of the dressing room, we entered the long waiting corridor leading to the ballroom.

Ethan walked ahead, answering a phone call.

Believing he had already broken my spirit, he didn't even bother keeping his voice down.

"Yeah? Are the agents at the IRS handled?"

"The second the video plays on the big screen, send the anonymous tip and the forged files immediately."

"Tomorrow at market open, short every single share of Vance Enterprises."

Following behind, I heard every single word with crystal clarity.

The Vance family was at the pinnacle of high society, with an empire spanning countless industries.

Years ago, after Ethan's family went bankrupt, he only managed to land an executive role at our company because of me.

My father treated him like his own flesh and blood.

To help him secure a seat on the board, Dad even handed over the core operations to his control.

Every luxury suit on his back, the penthouse he slept in, the very food on his plate—it was all paid for by Vance money.

Yet behind our backs, he was colluding with outsiders to crash our stock and plot my father's death!

After hanging up, a coordinator waved Ethan over to the main entrance to confirm the staging.

That left just Brooke and me in the hallway.

Without Ethan around, Brooke dropped every shred of her innocent act.

She crossed her arms and sneered at me smugly.

"So what if you found out, Chloe?"

"Look at you. You're still forced to walk down the aisle wearing my trashy cast-offs."

"Ethan was disgusted by you years ago. You're nothing but a pathetic rich ATM."

Looking at her smug, trashy smirk, I forced my temper down.

My gaze was ice-cold.

"Better a rich heiress than a dumpster diver picking up my leftovers."

"You honestly think Ethan loves you?"

"He's just waiting until he bleeds my family completely dry."

Hitting her sore spot, Brooke's face instantly twisted with spite.

"Keep talking, bitch!"

"After today, the Vance empire goes up in smoke. Let's see how arrogant you are then!"

"Ethan already promised he's going to lock you in a basement and keep you like a dog."

She took a menacing step closer and dropped her voice to a venomous whisper.

"Your bone marrow happens to be a perfect match for my brother. Call it recycling garbage."

"When that time comes, you'll be begging on your knees just for a scrap of bread from my table."

Hearing her speak of such monstrous cruelty as if it were a matter of course, I let out a dry, chilling laugh.

"Is that so? We'll see about that."

I turned my back on her and pulled out my phone.

It was buzzing madly in my hand.

Future Me: [Did you hear that? That is who they really are.]

Future Me: [Log into the AV control panel! We're running out of time!]

Future Me: [In my past, this was where Dad suffered a fatal heart attack from the shock of the fake evidence they aired. He died on the spot.]

Future Me: [Today, you make them pay in blood!]