CHAPTER 9: The Footage Beneath the Ballroom
The ballroom had twenty-four cameras.
Vanessa knew about the obvious ones: the ceiling corners, the lobby entrance, the bar, the corridor outside the bridal suite. She had even joked with the planner about keeping the cameras away from unflattering angles.
But she did not know about the old security system beneath the ballroom.
The Whitmore Grand had been built in the 1920s, restored twice, and modernized after a theft scandal in the early 2000s. Hidden backup cameras recorded to a private server accessible only by the founding family and legal counsel.
Adrian’s red velvet box contained the access drive.
The attorney connected it to the ballroom screen.
Vanessa lunged forward. “No!”
Security stepped between her and the table.
The screen above the dance floor flickered to life.
The first clip showed Vanessa in the bridal suite two hours before the ceremony. She stood with Raymond and a man from his legal team. Her dress was half-zipped, her hair pinned perfectly, her voice sharp.
“I need Adrian emotional tonight,” she said on the video. “If he signs after the reception, no one will question it. Tomorrow he wakes up embarrassed, and I wake up with leverage.”
The room went dead silent.
On screen, Raymond asked, “And Claire?”
Vanessa smiled.
“Claire won’t be a problem. Everyone thinks she’s crazy.”
Claire closed her eyes, but she did not cry.
Adrian watched the screen with a pain so controlled it looked almost inhuman.
The second clip showed Vanessa placing something inside the bouquet ribbon. The third showed her laughing with her friends, practicing the cake shove with her hands.
One bridesmaid on screen asked, “What if he gets mad?”
Vanessa replied, “Adrian? Please. He doesn’t know how.”
In the ballroom, no one laughed now.
May you like
Adrian reached up and wiped the last bit of frosting from his cheek.
“Now I do,” he said.
