“Your sister is gone.”
Natalie Black stopped breathing.
She stared at Victoria, waiting for her stepmother to laugh and tell her it was a joke.
She didn’t.
“What do you mean, Claire is gone?”
“The car was found three streets away from the hotel.”
Natalie’s fingers tightened around the phone in her hand.
“And Claire?”
“She’s nowhere.”
A silence fell between them.
Outside the dressing room, the sound of wedding guests grew louder. Music floated through the hotel corridor, followed by bursts of laughter and the clicking of expensive shoes against marble floors.
A wedding was happening downstairs.
Claire Black was supposed to be the bride.
In thirty minutes, she would walk down the aisle and marry Liam Monroe.
Except Claire had disappeared.
Natalie shook her head.
“No.”
Victoria’s eyes hardened.
“You’re going to take her place.”
Natalie stared at her.
For a moment, she thought she had misunderstood.
“I’m sorry?”
“You heard me.”
“You want me to marry Liam?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
The answer came so quickly that Victoria’s expression barely changed.
“Natalie—”
“No.” Natalie stepped backward. “Absolutely not. I’m not pretending to be Claire.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“I always have a choice.”
Victoria reached into her handbag and pulled out a folder.
She threw it onto the table.
Natalie looked down.
Debt notices.
Legal documents.
Bank statements.
Her father’s company name appeared repeatedly across the pages.
Her stomach twisted.
“What is this?”
“The truth.”
Victoria folded her arms.
“Your father’s company is drowning in debt. Liam Monroe’s family owns the majority of that debt.”
Natalie looked up sharply.
“You told me everything was under control.”
“I lied.”
The blunt admission stunned her.
Victoria continued.
“If this wedding is canceled, Liam will withdraw the agreement protecting the company.”
Natalie looked toward the closed door.
“So that’s why you need Claire.”
“We need a Monroe marriage.”
“And because Claire disappeared, you decided I should become her?”
“You’re the only person who can pass as her.”
Natalie almost laughed.
“That’s your reason?”
“You’re sisters. You have the same height, the same hair, and tonight you’ll be wearing her dress and veil.”
“You’ve planned this.”
Victoria’s expression flickered.
“No.”
Natalie noticed the hesitation.
“You’re lying.”
Before Victoria could respond, someone knocked.
A wedding coordinator opened the door.
“Mrs. Black, we’re already running behind. Mr. Monroe is waiting.”
Natalie’s heart began pounding.
Mr. Monroe is waiting.
Liam.
She had met him only twice.
Both times, he’d barely looked at her.
The first time had been at a charity dinner.
The second had been when he came to discuss the wedding contract with Claire.
He had seemed cold, controlled and impossible to read.
A man like that wouldn’t tolerate being deceived.
“I can’t do this,” Natalie whispered.
Victoria stepped closer.
“Then watch your father’s company disappear.”
Natalie closed her eyes.
Her father had spent twenty-five years building that company.
After his death, Natalie had promised herself she would protect it.
Even if it meant sacrificing everything else.
She opened her eyes.
“Where’s the dress?”
Victoria pointed toward the wardrobe.
Natalie stared at the white gown.
There it was.
Claire’s wedding dress.
The dress Natalie had watched her sister choose.
The dress that was never supposed to belong to her.
She slowly reached for it.
⸻
Twenty-seven minutes later, Natalie stood at the entrance of the ballroom.
Her face was hidden beneath a long veil.
Her hands were cold.
Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear the music.
She took one step forward.
Then another.
At the end of the aisle stood Liam Monroe.
He was dressed in a black tuxedo, his expression unreadable.
He didn’t look nervous.
He didn’t look angry.
He looked like a man who already knew how the story would end.
Natalie lowered her gaze.
Don’t look at him.
Just get through this.
She reached the altar.
Liam extended his hand.
Natalie hesitated before placing hers in it.
His fingers closed around hers.
Warm.
Firm.
His eyes remained on her face.
For one terrifying second, Natalie wondered if he could see through the veil.
The priest began the ceremony.
Natalie heard almost none of it.
Then—
“Liam Monroe, do you take this woman to be your wife?”
Silence.
Natalie held her breath.
Liam looked at her.
Then he smiled.
It was the first time she’d ever seen him smile.
It wasn’t warm.
It was dangerous.
“I do.”
Natalie’s heart stumbled.
The priest turned toward her.
“And do you take Liam Monroe as your husband?”
She swallowed.
“I do.”
Applause erupted around them.
The words sounded unreal.
She was married.
To a man who believed she was Claire.
Or so she thought.
Liam lifted her veil.
Their eyes met.
Natalie expected confusion.
Instead, his expression remained perfectly calm.
His thumb brushed the edge of her veil.
Then he leaned closer.
“Relax, Natalie.”
Her blood turned cold.
He knew.
His lips curved into a faint smile.
“I’ve known you weren’t Claire since you walked through those doors.”
Natalie stared at him.
“Then why did you—”
“Because,” Liam whispered, “the woman who was supposed to marry me disappeared for a reason.”
Natalie’s pulse raced.
“What reason?”
His smile vanished.
“Someone wanted her gone.”
A chill ran through Natalie.
Liam’s grip tightened around her hand.
“And now that you’re wearing her ring…”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“…whoever took Claire will come for you next.”
Natalie suddenly realized that the wedding hadn’t saved her family’s future.
It had made her the next target.