The Dead Sister Returned to Stop the Wedding

CHAPTER 1 - The Woman Beneath the Black Veil

Isabella Bellamy believed she had finally won.

She stood beneath a crystal chandelier wearing a custom wedding gown, surrounded by politicians, executives, and members of two wealthy families.

Beside her waited Daniel Ashford, the man who had once belonged to her twin sister.

The orchestra was about to begin when the ballroom doors opened.

A woman dressed entirely in black stood in the entrance.

Isabella lifted her champagne glass.

"Who are you? This is a private event."

The stranger walked forward without answering.

Guests turned to watch.

She slowly lifted her hands and removed the black veil.

Isabella dropped her glass.

The two women had the same green eyes, the same high cheekbones, and the same dark hair.

But a burn scar covered the left side of the stranger's face.

Daniel stopped breathing.

"Elena?"

The name passed through the ballroom like a shock wave.

Elena Bellamy had supposedly died fourteen months earlier when a fire destroyed the family's lakeside estate.

Only one body was recovered.

Isabella identified it as her sister.

Now Elena walked toward the altar carrying a court order, her passport, and the original certificate from the private courthouse ceremony she and Daniel had held shortly before the fire.

She stopped in front of Isabella.

"I came back to take what you stole from me... sister."

Isabella's face turned white.

"This is an impersonation. My sister is dead."

Elena held up the court order.

A judge had legally restored her identity and frozen the transfer of Bellamy Hotels. The order also confirmed that Elena's marriage to Daniel had never ended.

Daniel stared at the document.

He had been preparing to marry Isabella while still legally married to her sister.

Elena faced the guests.

"Did you really think the fire you set killed me?"

Police officers appeared at the ballroom entrance.

Isabella backed toward Daniel.

"She's lying!"

Elena's expression remained cold.

"The woman buried under my name was Martha Lewis, our sixty-four-year-old housekeeper. You placed my necklace on her body and left her to burn."

Isabella turned toward Daniel's mother, Charlotte Ashford.

For one brief second, they exchanged the same terrified look.

Elena saw it.

So did Daniel.

He turned toward his mother.

"What did you do?"

Charlotte said nothing.

Elena placed a small audio recorder on the table.

A woman's voice filled the ballroom.

Make sure Elena is inside before you lock the door.

It was Isabella's voice.

Then a second woman answered.

Once Daniel believes she is dead, he will belong to us again.

Daniel recognized his mother's voice.

The bride had set the fire, but the groom's own mother had helped her hide the crime.