Hundreds of people were now staring at Savannah standing in the center aisle. Confidently, she climbed the stairs to the stage.
Ansel was standing at the center of the stage. He was perfectly calm and composed. He gave her a look and held the microphone towards her.
Savannah stopped two steps away from him. Even though she had practiced for this moment, she got nervous. Her heart was pounding hard but she didn’t let it show on her face.
She took a deep breath and took the microphone from Ansel. Then she faced the guests and began speaking.
"I raised my hand on Mr. Locke because I was angry," Savannah began. "I slapped him because I let my pride control me. I was wrong, Mr. Locke. And tonight, in front of everyone, I want to apologize to you."
There was no immediate reaction. But within three seconds, cameras started clicking and a few people laughed.
Sienna’s laugh was the loudest. Beside her, Celeste was smiling as well but she quickly changed her expression and put a trembling hand over her heart. She looked like a perfect sister who was hurt because her sister had to apologize in front of everyone.
"Oh, Savannah..." Celeste murmured loudly enough for the nearby guests to hear. "You shouldn’t have..."
Meanwhile, in the shadows near the kitchen service doors, Leo stood against the wall with his tablet in his hand. His whole attention was on the digital clock.
7:59:57.
7:59:58.
7:59:59.
8:00:00.
A few feet away, Victor Locke’s private aide was standing behind a marble pillar. He quickly entered the final command into his encrypted terminal.
On the stage, Savannah continued talking about her other mistakes that had hurt Ansel.
Victor was completely absorbed in the scene. He found it quite fascinating.
"Kids will be kids," he muttered. "Going too far for an apology."
Behind the pillar, his aide pressed CONFIRM. The final offshore transfer was about to be processed when a red prompt flashed on the screen.
ERROR: TRANSACTION REJECTED.
ACCOUNT FROZEN BY EXECUTIVE ORDER 01.
The aide froze and tapped the button again.
ACCESS TERMINATED. SYSTEM LOCKED.
Sweat appeared on his forehead. He looked at Victor but Victor was busy grinning while looking at Savannah. The aide knew the authorities or corporate security would trace the IP address within minutes. So he immediately walked out of the side exit.
Leo saw him flee and took a long breath. Then he texted Mia.
Success!
On the stage, Savannah was finally done with her apology. Ansel took the microphone from her hands and was about to respond. But before he could say a single word, Madame Eleanor Locke stood up.
She leaned on her cane, looking like a queen who had outlived an empire. She walked up to the stage and took away the microphone from Ansel’s hand.
Ansel furrowed his brows in surprise but didn’t say anything. He smiled and took a step back.
Eleanor adjusted the mic and looked across the ballroom.
"Thank you all for coming to celebrate my eightieth birthday," Eleanor said. "Most of you know that my family’s fortune was built through hard work. But only a few know that it survived because of an unpaid debt."
The guests exchanged curious looks. Victor’s smile finally disappeared. He was so absorbed in Eleanor’s speech that he didn’t see his phone buzzing with text messages from his aide.
"Decades ago, my late husband was pulled from a burning car by a very brave woman named Rosalind Quinn."
Eleanor smiled and took out a paper from her small pearl bag hanging from her wrist.
"My husband spent his life trying to repay her. In his final will, he wrote that our family’s future should be connected to Rosalind’s blood," she lifted the letter and showed it to the cameras. "The letter I’m holding right now was written by Rosalind herself before she passed. In it, she wrote about her granddaughter she loved the most. The granddaughter who was born on a rainy day in March."
Celeste suddenly stopped breathing. Her hands instinctively went to the jade pendant at her neck.
Eleanor turned around and smiled at Savannah.
"My husband’s debt will be paid to Rosalind’s true blood," Eleanor declared. "Tonight, I will finally fulfill his final wish. I name Savannah Quinn as the chosen bride of Ansel Locke."
The entire ballroom seemed to hold its breath at the announcement. Then the room erupted.
Whispers turned into shouts. Reporters rushed towards the stage to get the first pictures.
Ansel looked at his grandmother then at Savannah in surprise.
So this was her irrefutable proof! She owes my grandma now.
"No! That’s impossible! There has been a mistake!"
Richard shot to his feet so fast that his chair fell. His face had turned red with panic. He grabbed Celeste’s arm and literally dragged her towards the stage.
"Madame Eleanor!" he shouted and pointed at Celeste. "My daughter Celeste is the one chosen as Locke bride! She is the lucky charm! Savannah is reckless. She doesn’t deserve to be Mrs. Locke."
Celeste stumbled in her heels as Richard dragged her. Tears streamed down her face as she looked desperately at Ansel.
"Ansel..." Celeste cried. "Ansel, please, look at me! It’s me!"
Ansel didn’t spare her a single glance. Instead, he walked towards Savannah and pulled her closer to him. Then he put his arm around her waist and smiled.
"Grandma...can I?" he held out his hand.
Eleanor smiled and gave him the microphone.
"My grandmother has spoken and I accept her decision," he said and looked at Savannah. "I accept Savannah Quinn as my wife."
Quinn family and Celeste froze on their respective spots. The most pitiful and scared among them was Celeste.
The perfect image she had spent years building finally cracked. Her breathing became shallow. Her whole body was shaking. She still couldn’t process what had just happened.
Before Richard or Celeste could protest again,
Victor Locke stood up and walked towards the stage. He stopped near the stage and raised a thick envelope in the air while glaring at Eleanor and Ansel.
"Hold your applause!" Victor’s voice silenced the room once again. "My aunt has been misled by a sentimental piece of paper! The city archives were officially updated this week. The legal records prove that Celeste Quinn is the sole biological granddaughter of Rosalind Quinn!"
Ansel laughed.
"Uncle," Ansel said, looking at Richard. "Let me make sure I understand this correctly. Are you saying that Quinn family raised a stranger as their biological child for twenty seven years?"
He looked at Savannah’s parents. Richard flinched while Cooper and Diane were too stunned to react. They didn’t know about this.
"Mr. Quinn...is my uncle right?"
Richard wiped the sweat from his forehead and glanced around. Everyone was waiting for him to speak.
"It... there was a mistake," Richard stammered. "A hospital error. We only just discovered the truth. Celeste is our biological daughter."
Ansel laughed coldly, sending a chill through the ballroom.
"A hospital error? How convenient. Apparently the daughter that was swapped at the birth is the same one you ended up adopting. And no one knew about this error for over two decades. And now it is miraculously discovered around the same time my grandfather’s inheritance clause requires Mrs. Quinn’s blood descendant."
"I know it sounds strange but it is the truth!" Richard argued.
"Is it? Or did you realize I would never accept the daughter you wanted to push into my life? So you decided to legally erase the woman I actually chose?"
Richard’s hands were shaking uncontrollably afraid that the truth will come out.
"Tell me, Mr. Quinn...who authorized this sudden ’correction’ to your family records? Did you falsify official records just to force your favourite daughter into the Locke family?"
Richard froze. He had no answer that wouldn’t incriminate him and the judging silence of the ballroom was making things even worse for him.
Victor got even more furious as he saw his pawn crumbling under Ansel’s interrogation.
"Fine!" Victor said. "If you think Richard Quinn has forged the records then we can prove the truth in another way. Let’s do a DNA test right now!"