Chapter 2 The Wrong Groom

The moment the chapel doors closed behind them, Maya pulled her hand from Damien's arm.

"What the hell was that?"

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the anger behind it was unmistakable.

Damien didn't answer immediately. He kept walking down the private corridor beside the chapel, his expression as calm as it had been throughout the ceremony.

That calmness irritated Maya more than anything else. She had just discovered that the man she had married was not the man she had agreed to marry, yet Damien looked as though he had encountered an unexpected inconvenience rather than a catastrophe.

"Damien."

He stopped.

Maya nearly walked into him.

He turned to face her. "Not here."

"Then where?"

"Somewhere private."

"You've got to be kidding me."

He opened the door to a small sitting room and stepped inside. Maya followed reluctantly, and the moment the door closed behind them, she turned on him.

"You knew."

His eyebrows drew together. "Knew what?"

"That something was wrong."

"I knew something was wrong when you told me your name."

"That's not what I mean."

Maya folded her arms. "You looked at me before the ceremony as if you recognized something. You weren't surprised when I walked down the aisle. You only became shocked after I told you who I was."

Damien regarded her for a moment.

"I thought you were Elena."

"And I thought you were Adrian."

The absurdity of the situation finally settled between them.

Maya laughed once, without humor, and sank onto the nearest sofa.

"This is unbelievable."

Damien remained standing.

"I agree."

She looked up at him. "Where is Adrian?"

"I don't know."

"You're his brother."

"That doesn't mean I know where he is."

"Then why were you at his wedding?"

His expression changed slightly.

"I wasn't supposed to be here."

Maya stared at him.

"Then why did you come?"

Damien walked to the window and looked through the glass at the gardens below.

"Because someone sent me a message."

"What message?"

"That Adrian was in trouble."

Maya sat straighter.

"When?"

"Earlier today."

"What did it say?"

Damien reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone. He unlocked the screen, then handed it to her.

The message was short.

If you want to know what happened to Adrian, come to the wedding. Come alone.

Maya read it twice.

"Who sent it?"

"I don't know."

"Did you try to trace the number?"

"Yes. It was unregistered."

She handed the phone back.

"So you came here looking for your brother."

"Yes."

"And instead you found me."

"Apparently."

Maya rubbed her temples.

None of this made sense.

She had spent the entire afternoon believing she was being used to cover Elena's disappearance. Now she was beginning to wonder whether Elena's disappearance was only one piece of something much larger.

"Did you see Adrian before the ceremony?" she asked.

"No."

"Not even once?"

"No."

"Then how did you know he was missing?"

Damien looked at her.

"Because he would never willingly leave without telling me."

Maya frowned.

"You two are close?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard.

"We haven't been close for a long time."

There was something in his voice that made her stop.

She wanted to ask what had happened between the brothers, but Damien's expression warned her not to.

Instead, she asked, "Then why would you care enough to come?"

His gaze hardened.

"He's still my brother."

Maya nodded slowly.

That answer was simple enough.

But there was clearly more to the story.

Before she could ask another question, someone knocked on the door.

Damien's posture immediately changed.

"Who is it?"

"It's Marcus."

Damien opened the door.

The man standing outside was the same person Maya had noticed near the chapel earlier. He was dressed in a dark suit and looked to be in his early thirties. Unlike the other members of the wedding staff, he didn't seem particularly interested in pretending that everything was normal.

His eyes went to Maya, then to Damien.

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

Marcus lowered his voice.

"Adrian."

Maya stood.

"What happened?"

Marcus hesitated.

Damien looked at him sharply.

"Tell me."

"We checked his room."

"And?"

"He wasn't there."

Damien's face became unreadable.

"His phone?"

"Missing."

"His car?"

"Still in the garage."

Maya's stomach tightened.

"Maybe he left with someone."

Marcus shook his head.

"His security driver says Adrian dismissed him two hours before the ceremony."

"Why?"

"He didn't say."

Damien looked toward the door.

"Did anyone see him leave?"

"One of the hotel employees saw him near the service entrance."

"When?"

"About an hour before the ceremony."

"Alone?"

Marcus nodded.

"Yes."

Maya looked at Damien.

"So he disappeared before the wedding."

"Looks that way."

She remembered Elena's final phone call.

I can't do it.

If they ask you to take my place, don't.

At the time, Maya had assumed Elena was simply afraid of the marriage.

Now she wasn't so sure.

"Something happened to Elena," she said.

Both men looked at her.

Maya continued, "She called me before the people from the Vale family came to my apartment. She sounded frightened."

"What exactly did she say?" Damien asked.

Maya repeated the conversation.

When she finished, Damien was silent.

"Did she mention a name?" he asked.

"No."

"Anything else?"

"She told me not to take her place."

Damien's eyes narrowed.

"Yet you did."

Maya's patience snapped.

"I didn't exactly have a lot of options."

His gaze shifted to her.

"What do you mean?"

"The Vale family offered me money."

"How much?"

Maya hesitated.

"Enough."

"Why would they pay you?"

"Because they needed someone to stand in for Elena."

"Who approached you?"

"Two representatives."

"Names?"

"I don't know."

Damien stared at her.

"You don't know who hired you to marry my brother?"

"I didn't know I was marrying you."

His jaw tightened.

Maya stood and faced him.

"Believe me, Damien, I'm just as unhappy about this as you are."

He didn't respond.

She reached into her handbag and pulled out the contract.

"I was promised three months. After that, the marriage ends."

Damien took the document and scanned it.

"Three months?"

"Yes."

"Who wrote this?"

"The Vale family's legal team."

His expression darkened.

"Interesting."

"What?"

He handed it back.

"My family doesn't usually make temporary arrangements."

Maya frowned.

"Then why did they make one with me?"

"I don't know."

She sighed.

"Of course you don't."

Damien ignored her sarcasm.

"Did they explain why the marriage had to happen today?"

"They said there were business and family obligations."

"Nothing more?"

"No."

He looked at her for several seconds.

"Did you receive anything else?"

Maya thought about it.

"No."

Then she remembered the envelope.

"Actually..."

She opened her handbag again and took it out.

"This contained the money."

Damien held out his hand.

Maya gave it to him.

He examined the envelope carefully before opening it.

Inside was the cash and a small folded piece of paper.

He unfolded it.

Maya leaned closer.

There was only one sentence written on it.

The wedding must happen tonight.

Neither of them spoke.

Damien read the sentence again.

"Who gave you this?"

"I told you. Two representatives came to my apartment."

"No. Who handed you this envelope?"

Maya shook her head.

"I don't know his name."

"Describe him."

"Mid-forties, maybe. Tall. Gray suit. He arrived in a black sedan."

"Anything else?"

"He had a scar near his left eyebrow."

Damien's eyes sharpened.

"You remember that?"

"I was suspicious."

"Did he say anything?"

"He asked whether I was Maya Hart. Then he gave me the envelope and told me where to go."

"Nothing else?"

"No."

Damien folded the note and slipped it into his pocket.

Maya noticed.

"That's mine."

"I'm borrowing it."

"Without asking?"

"I'll return it."

She held out her hand.

"Now."

For the first time, a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes.

"You're difficult."

"I've had a difficult day."

He returned the note.

A knock interrupted them again.

This time, Mrs. Collins entered.

Her composure was intact, but her eyes immediately went to the document in Maya's hand.

"The reception is beginning," she said. "The guests are waiting."

Damien didn't move.

"Tell them the bride isn't feeling well."

Mrs. Collins glanced at Maya.

"The family will not appreciate that."

"I don't care."

Her expression tightened.

"Mr. Vale, whatever happened between you and Miss Hart can be dealt with privately. Right now, there are hundreds of guests outside."

Maya noticed the choice of words.

Whatever happened between you and Miss Hart.

Not the misunderstanding.

Not the wedding mistake.

Something about it felt deliberate.

Damien noticed too.

"Where is Adrian?" he asked.

Mrs. Collins went still.

"I don't know."

"You're his family's chief aide."

"I said I don't know."

"Then find out."

She looked at him for a long moment before leaving.

Maya turned toward Damien.

"She was hiding something."

"Yes."

"You noticed it too."

"I noticed."

He walked toward the door.

Maya followed.

"Where are we going?"

"To find my brother."

She stopped.

"What about me?"

Damien looked back.

"You stay here."

"No."

His expression hardened.

"This isn't a game."

"I know."

"Someone may have taken Adrian."

"And someone may have arranged for me to marry you."

She stepped closer.

"Whatever is happening, I'm already involved."

Damien stared at her.

Maya refused to look away.

Finally, he sighed.

"Stay beside me."

"Fine."

"And don't speak to anyone without telling me."

"Agreed."

They left the room together.

Neither noticed the figure standing at the far end of the corridor.

The person watched them enter the elevator before slowly stepping back into the shadows.

A phone was raised.

A message was typed.

The wedding happened. She married Damien.

A reply arrived almost immediately.

Good. Now we can begin.