Chapter 7 - The Wedding Fire
Aaron forced the ventilation fan to restart by holding the damaged wires together with a metal clamp.
Air moved through the vault.
We had survived the first trap.
Now we could see the second unfolding above us.
Margaret’s guards placed black ignition devices beneath the floral arrangements and near the ballroom curtains. The room had been filled with candles, silk decorations, and dry wooden structures.
Once the fire began, investigators might believe it had spread from the wedding displays.
Preston’s assault on Sophie would become one chaotic moment in a larger tragedy.
The fraudulent documents would burn.
The vault would be buried.
Every guest who saw the CCTV footage would be silenced.
Aaron found an emergency ladder behind the maintenance wall.
“It leads into the west service corridor.”
“Can Sophie climb it?” I asked.
“I can,” she said before he answered.
Her face was pale, but her voice had steadied.
I kissed her forehead.
“You stay between me and Lucy.”
Caroline removed the heavy train from her wedding dress. She tore away the layers of silk until she could move freely.
“My mother paid for this dress,” she said. “I think she would forgive me.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
Aaron climbed first and forced open the ceiling hatch. We entered a narrow storage room behind the kitchen.
Smoke had not started yet.
Music was playing in the ballroom.
Margaret had ordered the quartet to continue, perhaps hoping the sound would calm the guests and cover the movement of her guards.
We reached the service entrance.
Through the crack in the door, I saw Preston standing near the altar. His jacket had been removed, and a dark bruise marked his jaw where someone had struck him.
Margaret spoke quietly to Judge Halbrook.
The guests had been told there was a security emergency outside. Most remained seated, confused and frightened.
One of the ignition devices blinked beneath a table.
Aaron whispered to two members of the venue staff. They began disconnecting the devices closest to the exits.
I handed Sophie to Lucy.
“Take her through the kitchen loading door.”
Sophie grabbed my hand.
“You’re coming too.”
“I have to get everyone else out.”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
Caroline knelt beside her.
“I will stay with your mom.”
Sophie looked at her bandaged temple, then at Preston.
“He lies when he smiles.”
Caroline’s eyes filled with tears.
“I know.”
Lucy led Sophie toward the kitchen.
I stepped into the ballroom.
“Preston!”
Every guest turned.
His face went still when he saw me.
“You should be downstairs.”
“You should be in handcuffs.”
Margaret looked toward the service corridor.
“Where is the brooch?”
“Somewhere you will never reach.”
Preston moved toward me.
I raised the memory card from Thomas’s envelope.
“This contains his original recording.”
That was a lie.
I had not yet viewed it.
But Margaret’s reaction told me it mattered.
“Take it,” she ordered.
Her guards advanced.
Caroline entered behind me.
She was still wearing the bodice of her wedding dress, but the train and veil were gone.
“This wedding is canceled.”
A murmur moved through the room.
Preston stopped.
“You are upset.”
“I am awake.”
“You signed the transfer.”
“I signed a honeymoon form you placed over another document.”
Judge Halbrook stepped forward.
“Miss Avery, you should consider your words carefully.”
Caroline faced him.
“You helped forge the witness page.”
“I witnessed a legal signature.”
Aaron appeared beside the ballroom control panel.
The large screens behind the altar came alive.
The CCTV footage showed Preston planting the brooch in Sophie’s pocket.
Then it showed Margaret carrying my handbag.
Then Judge Halbrook replacing the trust page.
The guests erupted.
Several began recording the screens with their phones.
Margaret’s calm expression finally broke.
“Turn that off.”
Aaron locked the controls.
“The stream is being uploaded to every registered guest.”
Preston rushed toward him.
Caroline stepped in front of her former groom.
“You threw a solid board at a child.”
“She was never supposed to get hurt.”
“That is not a defense.”
“It was your mother’s plan.”
Margaret stared at him.
Preston realized too late what he had said.
The ballroom doors opened as venue staff overpowered one of the private guards.
Guests began moving toward the exits.
Then a device beneath the central floral display emitted a rapid warning tone.
Aaron looked at it.
“That one has already been activated.”
The countdown showed twenty seconds.
I ran toward Sophie.
May you like
Smoke began pouring from beneath the wedding altar.
Continue to the next part: As the ballroom catches fire, Caroline discovers Preston has chained the main emergency exit from outside.
