Chapter 5 - The Chilling Confession
Evelyn wrapped both arms securely around Clara’s shaking body, pulling the young woman against her chest.
She stroked Clara’s long chestnut hair, gently keeping her daughter’s face tucked away from the hostile crowd.
"It’s over, sweetie, you’re safe with me," Evelyn murmured softly against Clara’s temple.
Clara suddenly reached up, clutching Evelyn’s wrists with desperate, clawing intensity.
Her entire frame shuddered as fresh tears spilled over her swollen, red cheek.
"Mom... you don't understand," Clara sobbed, gasping for air between choked breaths.
Evelyn tilted her daughter's chin upward, alarmed by the sheer horror drowning Clara’s tearful eyes.
"What is it, Clara? Tell me right now," Evelyn demanded, sensing something far darker than a drunken outburst.
Behind them, Julian froze beside the ruined table, his eyes darting wildly toward Clara with sudden panic.
"Shut your mouth, Clara!" Julian snarled hoarsely, attempting to shove past Marcus's shoulder.
Marcus instantly gripped Julian's arm with an iron hold, forcing the groom back onto his heels.
Clara stared directly into her mother’s eyes, her voice quivering with absolute terror.
"MOM! HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO GET RID OF ME!" Clara screamed, her voice cracking across the silent room.
The revelation hit Evelyn like a physical blow to the chest.
Her heart stopped beating for an excruciating second as the blood drained entirely from her face.
"What did you say?" Evelyn whispered, her voice barely louder than a ghost's breath.
"Before the ceremony... in the bridal suite... he cornered me," Clara wept uncontrollably.
"He whispered that once you signed the marriage certificate, I was dead weight that had to be eliminated," Clara cried out.
The entire wedding hall plunged into dead, suffocating silence.
Socialites covered their mouths in genuine horror, horrified by the monstrous implication.
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Julian’s arrogant demeanor completely vanished, replaced by the pale, clammy sweat of an exposed predator.
Evelyn slowly turned her head toward the man she had almost married, her eyes narrowing into cold, lethal obsidian.
