Derek’s face shifted from pale to a mottled, furious red. In that instant, he understood the game was over. The 11:59 PM deadline no longer mattered.
He ignored the crowd. His eyes fixed on me. And his mask completely disappeared, exposing the monster underneath.
“Lock the doors,” Derek roared at the three groomsmen in the back—men I realized far too late were actually muscle hired through his creditors.
The three men moved swiftly, pulling heavy brass chains across the ballroom exits.
Panic broke out. Guests began screaming.
Derek turned toward me, his eyes completely black. “You think you can humiliate me? You think you’re walking out of here with my money?”
He lunged across the table, sending flowers and crystal scattering.
CHAPTER 4: THE HOUSE OF CARDS
I stumbled backward, but my heavy silk dress caught on the chair. Derek cleared the table and landed heavily on the floor in front of me.
“You’re going to call your bank, Claire. Right now,” he snarled, grabbing a steak knife from the fallen table setting. He didn’t point it directly at me, but the threat was obvious.
“Stay back!” Richard, Derek’s own father, suddenly stepped between us with his hands raised. “Derek, son, stop this! Have you lost your mind?”
Derek violently shoved his father aside. Richard crashed against a pillar with a groan.
“Derek!” I screamed.
He charged toward me, grabbing the collar of my torn wedding dress and raising his hand.
Before he could strike, a sound louder than the music and louder than the screaming shook the ballroom.
CRASH.
The heavy chained exit doors bent inward.
CRASH.
The brass chains snapped like twigs.
The doors burst open, and a flood of dark blue uniforms poured into the ballroom.
“POLICE! GET ON THE GROUND! DROP THE WEAPON!”
Behind the line of armed officers came Olivia, my attorney, carrying a thick leather briefcase. She looked like an avenging angel in her tailored suit.
Derek froze, the knife still in his hand as his grip on my dress loosened.
