Chapter 3: The Halted Wedding
Chaos erupted in the ballroom. The officiant stepped back, and the string quartet abruptly stopped playing. Mark stood paralyzed, the word "adopted" ringing in his ears. He had lived his entire twenty-eight years believing he was the sole biological heir to his family's estate.
Lily, clutching Mark’s tuxedo jacket around her, felt the room spin. The woman who had tormented her throughout the entire engagement—the woman she had tried so desperately to please—was claiming to be her biological mother. Eleanor collapsed into a nearby chair, weeping uncontrollably. Realizing the spectacle they had become, Mark gently guided a bewildered Lily out of the ballroom, away from the whispering elite.
