Mark: Who gave you permission to film behind the bridal suite curtains?
Server: I was setting up the private dessert cart, sir. I saw her reach into her purse and pull out a small glass vial.
Mark: My bride? My own bride would never put something in my champagne!
Server: Look closely at the video timestamp on my phone screen. It was taken less than three minutes ago.
Mark grabbed the smartphone with trembling hands, his eyes locked onto the crisp video feed[cite: 1]. He saw twenty-seven-year-old Chloe, his wife of less than two hours, uncapping a clear liquid bottle and tipping it directly into the exact champagne flute he had been holding[cite: 1].
Groomsman Dave: Mark, man... is that really Chloe on the phone?
Mark: It's her. Look at her bracelet. I bought her that diamond cuff yesterday.
Groomsman Sam: Why would she do something so insane right in the middle of your reception?!
Server: She wasn't acting alone. There was a man standing right beside her behind the curtain.
Mark: A man? What man?!
Server: I couldn't see his face clearly, but he was wearing a navy blue suit with a gold tie clip.
Mark's breath hitched in his throat. His stepbrother, Julian, was the only person in the entire ballroom wearing a navy blue suit with a gold tie clip.
Mark: Julian... my own stepbrother was standing with her?
Server: Yes, sir. He handed her the vial, and she poured every single drop into your glass.
Groomsman Dave: This is sick. Julian has been trying to get his hands on your trust fund for years!
Mark: It's not just the trust fund, Dave. My father's life insurance policy and the entire corporate estate transfers to Chloe if anything happens to me within the first thirty days of our marriage.
Server: You need to keep quiet, sir. Look toward the head table. They're both watching you.
Mark looked over his shoulder, forcing his trembling hands to steady as he met Chloe's eyes across the crowded room. She was standing beside Julian, her eyes wide with visible panic as she stared down at the shattered glass and golden liquid spattered across the white marble floor[cite: 1].
Chloe: Mark, honey! What happened over there?! Did someone drop a glass?!
Mark: Just a small clumsy accident, sweetheart! Nothing to worry about!
Julian: Let the staff clean it up, Mark! Come over here and let's pour you another drink!
Mark: Oh, I'll be right over, Julian. Just give me one minute to clear my head.
Mark turned back to the blonde server, his eyes burning with a cold, terrifying fury that none of his groomsmen had ever seen before.
Mark: What is your name?
Server: My name is Sarah, sir.
Mark: Sarah, I am going to pay you fifty thousand dollars right now if you hand that phone to my chief security guard at the front entrance.
Sarah: I don't want your money, Mr. Vance. I just want you to catch the people who tried to hurt you.
Mark: We are going to catch them, Sarah. And we are going to make sure they never see the light of day again.