Chapter 13
Bryant’s POV
The church was quiet, save for the occasional whispers of the guests. I stood near the altar, adjusting the cufflinks on my sleeves for the hundredth time. My jaw clenched as I glanced at the grand doors of the church again, still closed.
An hour.
Amanda was late.
I tried to stay calm, convincing myself that she was just caught up in preparations, maybe fixing her makeup or the dress. But my patience was unraveling.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed her number again. It rang and rang before going to voicemail.
“Amanda, where are you?” I muttered under my breath, my frustration building.
Just then, the doors opened, and I turned
75% 11:52
1/7
Chapter 13
sharply, expecting to see her. Instead,
Dorothea and Andres entered, their expressions grim.
Dorothea hurried toward me, clutching a folded piece of paper in her hands. “Bryant,” she said with her voice trembling. “Amanda… she’s gone.”
“What?” My heart sank as I grabbed the note from her hands.
I’m sorry.
Two words. That was all she had left.
“We’ve already called the police,” Andres said. I could feel the worry and fear in his voice. “They‘ re investigating, but….. we don’t know where she’s gone.”
The note crumpled in my hand as my mind raced. Amanda wouldn‘ t just leave. She wouldn’t disappear without telling me why.
I turned to one of my men stationed at the back of the church. “Contact everyone. I
75% 11:52
217
2000
Chapter 13
want the city searched from top to bottom. Find her.”
The man nodded and stepped outside to make the calls.
Chaos erupted in the church as whispers spread like wildfire among the guests. The perfect day had turned into a nightmare, and the sinking feeling in my chest only
grew.
One of my men returned minutes later, holding his phone out to me. “Sir, you need to see this.”
I took the phone, and my stomach churned as I saw the news report.
“Breaking: The wedding between Amanda Smith and Bryant Jones has been called off as Amanda was reportedly seen entering her ex–fiancé Gabriel Rocco‘ s apartment late last night.”
The screen shifted to blurry footage of Amanda stepping into Gabriel’s building. A second clip showed Gabriel kissing her
75% 11:52
317
Chapter 13
as the door closed behind them.
I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. My hand shook as I stared at the screen.
“No,” I muttered, shaking my head. “That’s not true. Amanda wouldn’t…”
I threw the phone against the wall, the sharp crack of it shattering echoing in the
room.
Dorothea flinched, her hand flying to her chest. “Bryant, what does this mean? Amanda wouldn’t go back to Gabriel, would she?”
“She wouldn’t,” I said firmly, though my voice wavered. “There’s more to this. I know her. She wouldn’t just leave me— not like this.”
I scanned the room, my gaze sweeping over every guest. Everyone here had been carefully chosen–trusted friends and family. And yet… how had the media. known where the wedding was being held?
75% 11:52
4/7
Chapter 13
“Someone leaked this,” I said, my voice low but filled with conviction. “No one knew about this venue except the people in this room. Someone is feeding them information.”
Dorothea’s eyes widened, and Andres. frowned deeply. “Are you saying there‘ s a mole?” Andres asked.
“Exactly,” I said, stepping closer.
“Amanda didn’t leave me. She was
forced to. Someone here is working against
us.”
It didn’t take long to find the mole.
The staff was questioned, and eventually, one of the maids broke under pressure, pointing to Linda–the nanny who had been with the family long before and was
close to Nadia.
The moment she was brought before us, Linda’s face crumbled, and she confessed
everything.
“Nadia paid me,” she sobbed, wringing
75% 11:52
517
Chapter 13
her hands. “She asked me to work for her because if not, she will hurt my family so I didn’t have any choice. She wanted to know Amanda‘ s every move so I reported everything.”
Dorothea gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Nadia? She’s still doing this? Oh, god! How could she? I treated her like my own!”
I clenched my fists, barely containing my rage. “What else do you know?”
Linda hesitated, her eyes darting between
- us.
“Tell me,” I demanded, stepping closer. “Now.”
Tears streamed down her face as she stammered, “Nadia and Gabriel… they’ve been working together. They planned everything. Nadia said they‘ d ruin Amanda’s reputation first and then… they’d kill her.”
Dorothea let out a horrified gasp, and
75% 11:52
6/7
Chapter 13
Andres looked like he might explode.
“Kill her?” I said, my voice cold as ice. “Why?”
Linda looked down, her voice barely a whisper. “Gabriel has… their sex videos. A lot. He’s been threatening her to expose it. She didn’t want to go to him, but he forced her. She didn’t have a choice.”
The weight of her words hit me like a punch to the gut. My mind raced, piecing everything together. Gabriel had trapped her, blackmailed her, and now he had her
I cursed under my breath, fury bubbling to the surface. Turning to my men, I barked,
“I want every one of you searching the city. Find her. Now.”
75% 11:52
