CHAPTER 6 â The Enemy Sitting Among Us
The man slowly rose from the front row.
For a moment, nobody recognized the significance of his movement.
To most of the guests, he was just another wealthy older man attending a luxury wedding.
A respected businessman.
A family friend.
Someone who had spent decades sitting at the same tables as the Vale family.
But I knew better.
Because the moment he stoodâŠ
my father's face changed.
Not with surprise.
Not with confusion.
With pain.
The kind of pain that comes from seeing a ghost from your past walk back into your life.
My fingers tightened around the microphone.
"Who is he?"
My voice was barely a whisper.
But everyone heard it.
Thomas Reed looked at the man.
His expression became cold.
"His name is Victor Blackwell."
The name meant nothing to me.
But it clearly meant everything to the people in that ballroom.
A few guests exchanged nervous looks.
Richard Vale's jaw tightened.
Cynthia looked away.
And Preston...
Preston looked terrified.
I turned toward him.
"You know him."
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
Preston swallowed.
"Emma..."
"Do you know him?"
His silence answered.
I felt something inside me crack again.
How many secrets had been hidden from me?
How many conversations had happened behind my back?
How many people in this room knew the truth while I walked toward an altar believing I was finally building a happy future?
Victor Blackwell walked slowly toward the center of the ballroom.
He didn't look like a criminal.
That was the most frightening part.
He looked like a man who had spent his entire life being respected.
His silver hair was perfectly styled.
His suit probably cost more than my parents' car.
His posture was confident.
A man who had never been forced to apologize.
He stopped a few feet away from me.
Then he smiled.
"Emma Carter."
Hearing my full name from him sent a chill down my spine.
"I have been waiting a long time to meet you."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
His smile grew slightly.
"Because you are the last piece of a puzzle that started thirty years ago."
My father stepped forward.
"Stay away from my daughter."
Victor looked at him.
And laughed softly.
"Daniel."
That single word carried years of hatred.
"You still act like you have power."
My father's fists tightened.
"Power was never the thing you wanted."
Victor smiled.
"No."
He looked around the ballroom.
"I wanted control."
The guests became uncomfortable.
Some started whispering.
But nobody left.
Because everyone knew they were witnessing something much bigger than a wedding.
Victor turned back toward me.
"You think today is about your parents being moved to the back?"
I said nothing.
He continued.
"You think it's about your fiancé's family disrespecting them?"
His eyes moved toward Preston.
"Those are small things."
My stomach tightened.
"Then what is this about?"
Victor looked at Thomas.
Then at Richard.
Then finally at my father.
"It's about finishing what we started."
The words made my blood run cold.
My father looked furious.
"You should have stayed gone."
Victor smiled.
"Like your father?"
The ballroom froze.
My mother grabbed my arm.
My father stepped forward.
"Don't."
But Victor continued.
"Your grandfather made one mistake."
"What?"
"He trusted people who wanted his empire."
The room became silent.
Victor walked toward the stage.
"He believed loyalty mattered."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"But loyalty is a weakness when dealing with powerful men."
I looked at Richard.
"Is this true?"
Richard looked away.
And that hurt.
Because every time I asked for the truth...
someone avoided my eyes.
Victor noticed.
"Poor Emma."
His voice became almost sympathetic.
"You spent your whole life believing your parents were ordinary."
He looked at my father.
"Believing your father was a simple worker."
Then he looked back at me.
"But your family was never ordinary."
He stepped closer.
"You are the daughter of Daniel Carter."
A pause.
"The rightful owner of the company that created Vale Enterprises."
The guests gasped.
My heart raced.
"I don't understand."
Victor smiled.
"You don't need to."
Then he looked toward Preston.
"He does."
Everyone turned.
Preston froze.
My chest tightened.
"What does Preston have to do with this?"
Nobody answered.
I looked at my fiancé.
The man who was supposed to become my husband.
The man whose family had spent months planning this wedding.
The man who had just admitted he initially wanted my inheritance.
"Preston?"
He looked at me.
And for the first timeâŠ
I didn't see guilt.
I saw fear.
"Tell her."
Victor's voice was calm.
Preston shook his head slightly.
"Not here."
Victor laughed.
"Why not?"
He looked at the guests.
"Everyone is already here."
I felt my hands trembling.
"Tell me what?"
Preston closed his eyes.
Then he whispered:
"Emma..."
"I was never supposed to marry you by accident."
The words hit like a physical blow.
I stepped back.
"What?"
He looked devastated.
"I met you because of your family."
The ballroom erupted.
My mother covered her mouth.
My father looked like someone had punched him.
I couldn't move.
Three years.
Three years of memories.
Our first date.
Our first apartment.
The night he proposed.
The promises.
The dreams.
Were they all part of a plan?
I shook my head.
"No."
Preston stepped closer.
"Emma, please listen."
I raised my hand.
"Don't."
My voice was calm.
Too calm.
"How long?"
He froze.
"How long what?"
"How long did you know who I was?"
Silence.
Then finally...
"Since before we met."
The world seemed to tilt.
I looked around the ballroom.
At the flowers.
The decorations.
The wedding dress.
Everything I thought was the beginning of my future suddenly looked like a carefully designed trap.
My voice became quiet.
"So the wedding..."
I looked at Preston.
"The marriage..."
"The love..."
I swallowed.
"Was all planned?"
"No."
His answer came immediately.
"No, Emma. Not all of it."
I laughed.
A broken laugh.
"Which part was real?"
He had no answer.
And that silence destroyed whatever hope remained.
Then Victor stepped forward.
"There is one more thing you should know."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He reached inside his jacket.
He pulled out an old document.
Yellowed.
Aged.
But carefully preserved.
He placed it on the table.
"Your grandfather left instructions before he died."
My father went pale.
"What did you do?"
Victor smiled.
"I didn't do anything."
He looked at me.
"But your grandfather knew someone would try to steal everything from his family."
My fingers touched the document.
At the top was a handwritten title.
THE CARTER FAMILY FINAL TRUST AGREEMENT
I opened it.
The first sentence made my heart stop.
"To my granddaughter Emma Carter, if you are reading this, it means the people closest to you have already betrayed you."
I couldn't breathe.
Because my grandfather had written this decades ago.
Before I was born.
Before I met Preston.
Before this wedding.
And somehow...
he knew.
I continued reading.
The next line was even more terrifying.
"Do not trust the man wearing the Vale name."
Slowly...
I lifted my eyes.
And everyone followed my gaze.
Until it landed on Preston.
The man I was supposed to marry.
The man who had broken my heart.
The man whose family had been hiding secrets for thirty years.
Then the document revealed one final sentence.
A sentence that changed everything:
"The person who betrayed the Carter family is not the one you think."
I looked up.
Confused.
Because if it wasn't Victor...
If it wasn't Richard...
If it wasn't Preston...
Then who?
At that exact moment, a scream came from the back of the ballroom.
Everyone turned.
A woman stood near the entrance.
Holding a folder.
Her face was pale.
Her hands were shaking.
And she said:
"Emma..."
"I know who really destroyed your family."
The woman stepped into the light.
And I recognized her.
Because she was someone who had been standing beside me throughout the entire wedding preparation.
Someone I trusted.
May you like
Someone I never thought could betray me.
My wedding planner.
