Chapter 4
The car pulled up to the hotel entrance. The valet's hand visibly trembled as he opened the door for me.
I stepped out, the costume shimmering in the sunlight. Behind me, three buses arrived, and one hundred performers in matching outfits filed out.
The band started playing, and the brass section led the way. Charles held up a banner reading Elaine's Dance Troupe and shouted, "Everyone, today is Elaine's sister's big day. Let's show them what we've got."
The hundred-person troupe spread out, their sashes fluttering, and the music filled the air. Hotel security rushed out to stop us, but they couldn't get close to the determined performers.
I led the group, gift box in hand, walking with steady steps and a confident smile. The doors to the party hall were right in front of me.
Inside, the emcee was hyping things up. "Let's give our warmest applause to this couple, who may not have had luck on their side, but made a miracle happen with their love."
The applause was deafening. I reached out and pushed open the heavy, wooden door.
The music stopped cold. Every eye in the room locked onto me. Olivia sat frozen in her wheelchair, her smile stuck on her face. Jacob's jaw dropped, his wine glass almost slipping from his hand.
Richard and Maria turned pale as ghosts, and Richard staggered back a step.
It was dead silent. Only the music was blasting through the hall.
I strode confidently toward the gift table, the crystals on my dress sparkling with every step. When I was about ten feet from Olivia, I stopped, opened the gift box, took out the white lilies, and offered them to her with both hands.
"Olivia, congratulations on your wedding," I said, my voice echoing through the mic on my chest. "I don't have much to give you, so here are flowers. May your love last after you do."
The whole place erupted. Flashbulbs exploded everywhere, and the reporters were snapping photos nonstop.
Olivia finally snapped out of it and screamed, "Security, get her out of here."
I raised my hand to signal for silence, then took a USB drive from the gift box and plugged it into the media port on the display table. The big screen flickered to life.
The first image was security footage of Olivia walking briskly through the rehab center, the date stamped clearly. The second was a selfie she took while setting up crash pads the night she faked her suicide attempt.
The third showed her in high school, grabbing a classmate by the hair and slamming their head into the wall. And there were more photos of bullying, plagiarism, fake charity donations, forged medical records, and stolen trade secrets. Every image had a timestamp.
The last image was a screenshot of her conversation with Jacob.
Jacob: [I'll marry you, but I want 20% of the Morgan Group shares.]
Olivia: [Make it 30%, or there's no deal.]
Jacob: [Deal. You need to pull off a miracle recovery within our first year of marriage. I want a healthy wife for all the social events.]
Olivia: [Don't worry, I've already got the script ready.]
The big screen froze on that exchange. The party hall was dead silent.
I picked up the microphone and cleared my throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, members of the media," I said, my voice calm as water. "Sorry for interrupting this meticulously planned wedding, but some truths can't stay buried.
"Olivia, my so-called good sister, was never paralyzed. Her suicide attempt was nothing but a staged act, and her miraculous recovery was a carefully written script.
"She did all this to seize the Morgan family's fortune, and to make sure I, the true Morgan, would never get a chance to rise again."
I turned to Richard and Maria. "Dad, Mom, I know you care about her after raising her for twenty years. But maybe you should take a good look at what kind of daughter you've raised."
Maria collapsed into her chair, while Richard gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white.
Olivia finally snapped. She got up from her wheelchair. Everyone sucked in a breath, stunned.
"You're lying," Olivia screamed, her face contorted, all that sweet persona gone. "This is all fake. You're framing me."
"Is that so?" I smiled. "So what? You're standing up right now. Is that my doing, too?"
That's when she realized she was actually standing. Her face turned as pale as a sheet, and she dropped back into her wheelchair. But it was already too late.
Hundreds of eyes were locked on her, dozens of cameras catching everything. Her so-called miracle? Exposed on the spot.
I walked to the edge of the stage, stared straight into the cameras, and spoke clearly, "From today on, I'm no longer Claire Morgan.
"My name is Elaine Moon, the sole heir to the Moon BBQ chain, the owner of thousands of acres of farmland in Amiston. I'm done playing along with the Morgan family's little drama.
"As for Olivia," I said, turning to her with a smile. "I wish you and your fiancé a lifetime together. May you be stuck for good. Don't mess up anyone else's life."
With that, I removed the mic and turned away. Behind me, there was dead silence, except for Olivia's hysterical cries.
As I walked out of the party hall, the dance troupe struck up their final number, A Wonderful Day. It certainly was a memorable day. But the real drama was only just getting started.