Chapter 2: The Groom’s Prison of Secrets
Julian, standing beside her, didn't reach for her hand. He didn't ask what was wrong. He stood frozen, his skin the color of ash. He wasn't confused; he was terrified. He looked at the locket, then at the back of the church, then down at his feet. He was the man who had spent three years wooing Isabella, the man who had promised her a life of transparency, and now, the truth was bleeding out of his pores.
"You knew," Isabella said, her voice dropping to a dangerous, low register. It wasn't a question.
Julian’s eyes darted to the front row, where his father, Arthur Thorne, sat with a stony, unreadable expression. Arthur, the titan of industry, the man who had bankrolled this wedding, the man who had "comforted" Isabella after her mother’s death a decade ago.
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"Isabella, listen to me," Julian stammered, his voice cracking. "It’s not what you think. My father—he did it to protect the company. The shares... the merger..."
"Protect the company?" Isabella repeated. The realization hit her with the force of a physical blow. Her mother hadn't died in an accident. She had been erased. Her mother had been the majority shareholder of the Vance estate before the 'accident.' With her gone, Arthur Thorne had absorbed the assets. He hadn't just stolen a business; he had stolen her mother.
