Chapter 6 - The Dead Wife Walks In
Daniel dropped his glass.
It shattered against the marble floor.
Nobody moved.
Nearly forty people stood around the ballroom.
Bankers.
Developers.
Lawyers.
Politicians.
Men and women who looked powerful enough to purchase entire neighborhoods without changing expression.
And at the center of them stood my husband.
Daniel looked like he had seen a ghost.
“Ava?”
My name barely escaped his mouth.
I walked beside Elias.
Behind us came Arthur and four security men.
Vincent Mercer stood near the fireplace.
I recognized him instantly from the photographs.
Silver hair.
Tailored tuxedo.
A face built from expensive smiles and empty eyes.
Unlike Daniel, Mercer did not look surprised for long.
He recovered within seconds.
“My dear.”
I almost laughed.
“Don’t call me that.”
Daniel rushed toward me.
Elias stepped between us.
Daniel stopped.
His eyes moved from Elias to me.
Then his fear turned to anger.
“You went with him?”
I stared at him.
“You threw me into the snow with two newborn babies.”
People began whispering.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“That isn’t what happened.”
“Then tell them.”
He looked around the ballroom.
“Tell everyone what happened.”
Daniel’s face reddened.
“You were hysterical.”
“I had just given birth.”
“You attacked me.”
My hands began trembling.
Elias noticed.
He did not speak.
He simply remained beside me.
That gave me enough strength to continue.
“Did I attack myself too?”
I rolled up my sleeve.
Bruises still covered my arm.
Several guests looked uncomfortable.
Daniel pointed toward Elias.
“You have no idea what this man is.”
I looked at Elias.
“I know exactly what people say he is.”
Then I looked back at Daniel.
“He is also the man who stopped under that overpass.”
Silence returned.
“You didn’t.”
Mercer finally spoke.
“That is quite enough.”
His voice was calm.
Daniel immediately stopped talking.
That single reaction told everyone who was really in control.
Mercer smiled at me.
“You have clearly experienced a terrible misunderstanding.”
I felt sick.
“You ordered my husband to marry me.”
A few heads turned.
Mercer laughed.
“That sounds theatrical.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“Does this?”
He placed copies of bank transfers onto a table.
Mercer’s smile weakened.
Arthur continued.
“Payments from Calder Development to Daniel Miller.”
Another document followed.
“Communication between Mercer Holdings attorneys discussing the Bennett trust.”
Then another.
“A draft death declaration prepared three weeks before Ava gave birth.”
The room erupted in whispers.
Daniel looked at Mercer.
“You said those were destroyed.”
Mercer’s head turned slowly.
Daniel realized what he had said.
Too late.
Elias smiled without warmth.
“There it is.”
Mercer’s eyes became dangerous.
Then the ballroom lights suddenly went black.
Someone screamed.
Elias grabbed me.
“Down.”
A window shattered.
People scattered.
In the darkness, Daniel’s hand locked around my wrist.
May you like
“You ruined everything.”
Before Elias could reach me, Daniel dragged me through a side door.
