Chapter 3

Elizabeth stood up. She pulled her robe tight, her bare feet sinking into the plush carpet. She looked at Acey and Jami, who were still clinging to each other.

"Get out," Acey spat, his face twisted in disgust.

Elizabeth didn't blink. Her thumb hovered over her phone screen. The video had been waiting on her device since the early hours-a file Dorian's security team had extracted from the spa's hidden surveillance and forwarded to her while she slept. The media contacts were simpler: the standard press distribution list every bride kept for wedding announcements, now repurposed for a very different kind of reveal. She tapped 'Send'.

Five seconds later, a chorus of sharp pings erupted in the room.

Every reporter's phone in the hallway chimed simultaneously with a high-priority email containing the video file. At the same moment, the hotel's guest network-still running on access protocols Dorian controlled-pushed an auto-play clip to every device connected on the floor, including Jami's and Acey's phones.

Jami pulled her phone from her pocket with a frown. She tapped the screen. All the blood drained from her face. The device slipped from her trembling fingers and hit the floor with a dull thud.

A high-definition video began playing on Acey's phone. The audio filled the tense silence of the bedroom.

It was Jami's voice, moaning loudly, mixed with Acey's breathless dirty talk. The video showed them pressed against the lockers in the hotel's spa changing room, completely naked and entirely occupied with each other.

Grandma Cantu stared at the screen of her own phone. Her hands shook so violently the cane clattered to the floor.

Acey's eyes bugged out of his head. He lunged for his grandmother's phone, trying to snatch it away, but a bodyguard stepped in and shoved him back.

In the hallway, the reporters went into a frenzy. Camera shutters fired like machine guns. The headline had just changed.

Elizabeth stood perfectly still. Her voice was flat, carrying clearly over the chaos.

"Who is the disgusting one, Acey?"

She looked at the reporters. "I was drugged last night and left in my room. I came here seeking help from Dorian. Meanwhile, my fiancé has been sleeping with my sister for months."

The narrative flipped in an instant. The cheating whore became the victim of a sick family conspiracy.

Jami dropped to her knees. She grabbed Grandma Cantu's skirt, sobbing hysterically. "It's a lie! It's deepfake! Please!"

Grandma Cantu kicked her leg out, sending Jami sprawling onto the carpet.

The old woman's chest heaved. The Cantu stock would plummet at the opening bell. The family name would be dragged through the mud. She needed a tourniquet, and she needed it now.

Her sharp eyes scanned the room and locked onto Dorian.

Grandma Cantu took a deep breath, forcing her spine straight. "The wedding tonight will proceed as planned."

Acey whipped his head around. "What? I can't marry her now!"

"You aren't marrying anyone," Grandma Cantu snapped. She pointed at Dorian. "Dorian will take your place."

A collective gasp sucked the air from the room.

"That's impossible!" Acey yelled.

"It is the only way to save this family," Grandma Cantu said, her voice like cracking ice. "We will issue a statement that Dorian and Elizabeth were the intended couple all along. Acey and Jami fell in love, and we supported them. It was a mutual switch."

Dorian raised an eyebrow. He looked at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth met his gaze. She tilted her chin up, a silent confirmation.

Dorian let out a low laugh. He stood up, walked over to Elizabeth, and wrapped a heavy arm around her bare shoulders. His skin was burning hot against hers.

He looked at his grandmother. "Fine. I'll take out the trash."

The bodyguards began physically shoving the reporters toward the elevators.

Dorian leaned down, his lips brushing Elizabeth's ear. "Well played, wife."