CHAPTER 1: THE CONFESSION
The elderly woman's cane hit the marble floor with a loud crack.
Every eye in the chapel turned toward her.
Her face had gone pale.
Tears streamed down her wrinkled cheeks.
Victoria slowly stood.
"You know this necklace?" she whispered.
The old woman trembled.
For several seconds she couldn't speak.
Then finally she nodded.
"Because I was there the night your daughter disappeared."
A shocked murmur spread through the guests.
The bride's knees nearly gave out.
Daniel quickly held her arm.
"What do you mean?" he demanded.
The old woman closed her eyes.
"Twenty years ago, during the storm... someone paid a nurse to take the baby from the hospital."
Victoria felt the room spin.
"No..."
The woman pointed toward the back row.
A man in an expensive gray suit suddenly stood up.
Victoria's younger brother.
Richard Langston.
The entire chapel gasped.
Richard's face turned white.
"That's a lie."
But the old woman shook her head.
"I worked at the hospital. I saw the money change hands."
Victoria stared at her brother.
"Why?"
Richard lowered his head.
Because he knew the answer could no longer stay buried.
"If your daughter inherited the company..." he whispered, "...my children would inherit nothing."
The chapel exploded into chaos.
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For twenty years, the family's greatest tragedy had not been an accident.
It had been betrayal.
