Mark felt a cold chill run through his chest despite the warm summer heat.
He stared at the tiny flesh-colored earpiece sticking out from Victoria's ear.
Mark: Why are you wearing a hidden receiver at our wedding, Victoria?
Victoria took a quick step backward, almost tripping over her heavy silk train.
Victoria: It is just a tiny hearing aid I was too embarrassed to show you!
Little Girl: She is lying, Uncle Mark!
Little Girl: I heard a man's voice whispering to her in the dressing room!
The crowd began to murmur as relatives turned to talk to one another.
Mark reached out his hand gently toward Victoria's right ear.
Mark: Hand it to me right now.
Victoria: Don't touch me, Mark!
Mark did not back away because he knew something was terribly wrong.
He carefully pulled the tiny electronic earpiece straight out of her ear canal.
A faint, angry voice was blaring out from the tiny speaker inside the plastic.
Mark pressed the tiny device right up against his own ear to listen closely.
Voice: Say the vows quickly, Victoria, before he asks about the offshore trust fund!
Mark recognized the deep voice coming through the receiver immediately.
It belonged to Julian, his former business partner who had vanished two years ago.
Julian had left the real estate firm after a massive fraud investigation started.
Mark looked up at Victoria with complete disbelief in his eyes.
Mark: You are working with Julian to steal my family's inheritance.
Victoria: Mark, please, let me explain everything in private!
Mark turned toward the large wooden barn doors at the end of the lawn.
Two security guards stepped out into the bright sunlight, holding the doors open.
A black sedan was idling near the entrance of the private driveway.