The CEO's Midnight Remedy novel Chapter 104

Chapter 104

“Just needed a moment,” I replied, matching his tone. “It’s not every day a girl gets married.”

William approached us, champagne in hand, Devon at his side. “Ah, there’s my beautiful daughter,” my

father beamed. “Devon, have you met Aria? Her company’s been looking for investors. Perhaps Kane

Technology might be interested?”

Devon’s eyes met mine over my father’s shoulder. “Miss Harper’s value far exceeds her father’s estimation,”

he said smoothly. “We’ve already established quite… deep collaboration.”

I watched Ethan’s jaw tighten. As soon as my father moved on, he pulled me to a quiet corner. “I told you

to stay away from Kane,” he hissed. “What’s going on between you two?”

Before I could answer, Victoria glided over, her smile tight and practiced. “Darling,” she said, her eyes fixed

on the healing cut on my forehead, “the makeup artist didn’t quite cover that up, did she?” Her fingers

reached toward my face, but I stepped back.

Across the room, I spotted Caroline Hayes, fidgeting nervously with her engagement ring, her eyes tracking

Devon and Noah’s interaction by the bar. When Devon glanced her way, she quickly looked down.

At the center of the ballroom, waiters began constructing the champagne tower, a glittering monument to excess and celebration. William tapped his glass, signaling that the official engagement ceremony was

about to begin.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, please gather for the champagne toast.”

I stood alone beside the champagne tower, feeling oddly detached from the scene unfolding around me.

Across the room, I caught Devon’s eye and gave him an almost imperceptible nod. The time had come.

William raised his glass, his voice carrying across the hushed ballroom. “Today we celebrate the union of

two great families…”

The lights suddenly dimmed, plunging the room into momentary darkness before the large screen behind

us flickered to life. It had been prepared for a video montage of Ethan and me growing up, carefully edited to suggest a lifelong connection.

Instead, the screen displayed the words “The Blake Family’s Dirty Secret‘ in stark white letters against a

black background.

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Simultaneously, every guest’s phone buzzed with notifications. I watched as confused expressions turned to

shock as they unlocked their screens. The photos and videos I’d secretly collected over the past months-

Ethan and Scarlett entering hotel rooms, their intimate embraces, screenshots of their explicit text

messages–were being broadcast not only on the screen but directly to every witness in the room.

Then came the final blow–Scarlett’s medical report appeared on screen, the words “PREGNANCY TEST:

POSITIVE highlighted in red. The date stamp showed it was just two weeks old.

The ballroom erupted in gasps and murmurs. Camera flashes exploded as journalists who’d come to cover a society wedding suddenly found themselves documenting a scandal. The New York Post reporter in the

corner was already typing furiously on her phone.

Scarlett’s eyes were wide with horror, her carefully crafted innocence crumbling as she frantically looked toward Victoria, silently begging for intervention. My stepmother was frantically gesturing to the

technicians, who shrugged helplessly. The system had been locked.

“This–this is a malicious edit,” Ethan stammered, his face ashen. “Someone is trying to sabotage-”

“How dare you!” Marianne’s voice cut through the chaos as she confronted her son. “Is this how you honor

Aria? Is this how you represent the Blake name?”

Victoria pushed through the crowd toward the screen controls, but the technicians continued to shake their heads. Social media alerts kept pinging as the story spread beyond the ballroom walls.

Through it all, I remained still, watching the destruction I’d orchestrated with calm detachment. I caught Devon’s gaze from across the room. His expression was one of admiration mixed with something deeper, something that made my heart beat faster despite the chaos.

“This is just the beginning,” I whispered to myself as camera flashes illuminated the ruins of what should have been my wedding day.

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