The Fall Before the Wedding
Chapter 01 - The Fall Before the Wedding
The private suite above the Grand Ellington ballroom was meant to be a quiet place for family before the wedding announcement. Downstairs, hundreds of guests waited for billionaire hotel heir Adrian Mercer to introduce his pregnant fiancée, Claire Dawson, as the future Mrs. Mercer. Upstairs, Claire stood beside the bed in a cream-colored dress, one hand resting on her stomach, while Adrian’s younger sister, Elena, adjusted the clasp of their late mother’s diamond necklace.
The necklace was more than jewelry. Adrian’s mother had worn it on her wedding day, and his grandmother before her. According to family tradition, it would be given to the woman who carried the next Mercer child.
Elena had objected. Not because she disliked Claire, but because the necklace belonged to a trust that could not legally be transferred before the marriage. Adrian accused her of being controlling. Claire called her jealous. Still, Elena agreed to bring the necklace upstairs so they could avoid an argument in front of the guests.
The moment Elena fastened it around Claire’s neck, Claire’s expression changed.
“You should have stayed away tonight,” she whispered.
Before Elena could ask what she meant, Claire grabbed her wrist, pulled her close, then suddenly stumbled backward. She struck the edge of the nightstand and fell to the carpet with a cry. The necklace snapped and scattered beside her.
Elena froze.
Claire clutched her stomach and screamed for help.
Adrian rushed through the doorway with a nurse and two security officers behind him. He saw Claire on the floor, Elena standing over her, and the broken diamonds between them. Claire looked up through tears.
“She pushed me,” she said.
Elena denied it, but Adrian barely heard her. He dropped beside Claire, terrified for the baby. Security moved Elena away from the bed while the nurse checked Claire’s pulse.
Then Adrian noticed a red mark on Claire’s shoulder.
Claire said Elena had grabbed her there before shoving her.
Every detail seemed to support the accusation—except Elena knew she had never touched that shoulder.
As security escorted her toward the hall, Elena looked up and saw the black dome of a surveillance camera above the door.
“Check the footage,” she said.
Adrian followed her gaze.
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The security monitor beneath the camera was dark.
Someone had disconnected it exactly seven minutes before Claire fell.
