Chapter 1: The Bride Who Never Said "I Do"
The orchestra had barely reached the second movement when the lights flickered.
One blink.
Two.
Then darkness swallowed the Saint Aurelia Ballroom.
A chorus of startled gasps echoed through the room before the emergency lights bathed everything in a cold crimson glow.
When the lights returned ten seconds later...
The groom was gone.
Only his wedding ring remained on the marble floor.
Juliette stared at the empty altar.
"What kind of joke is this?"
No one answered.
The guests exchanged nervous glances while security rushed toward every exit. The ballroom doors had been locked from the inside. No one had entered. No one had left.
Douglas Mercer immediately demanded every surveillance camera be checked.
Minutes later, the head of security returned with a face as pale as paper.
"The cameras erased themselves."
"Impossible."
"We have one recording left."
He placed a tablet in front of the Mercer family.
The footage showed the groom standing beside Juliette...
Then he slowly turned toward someone behind the guests.
Someone no one else could see.
His face turned white.
He whispered three words before walking away.
"I know Caroline."
The video ended in static.
Juliette felt every drop of blood leave her face.
Caroline...
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That name had not been spoken inside the Mercer family for ten years.
Or so everyone believed.
