The congregation turned in confusion.
Grant Caldwell, senior partner at Caldwell & Pierce, walked down the aisle wearing a charcoal suit and an expression carved from stone. Two broad-shouldered men followed closely behind him.
Vivian straightened immediately.
“What is the meaning of this?” she shouted. “The service is over!”
Grant stopped near the altar.
“The service,” he replied calmly, “is only beginning.”
A projector screen slowly descended from the cathedral ceiling.
Vivian relaxed slightly, clearly assuming Ethan had prepared some sentimental farewell praising his family.
The projector flickered.
Then Ethan appeared on the giant screen.
My breath caught instantly.
He sat in his office at home, pale and exhausted but terrifyingly focused. This wasn’t the charming billionaire the media adored. This was the ruthless strategist who built empires.
“To my wife, Emily,” his recorded voice echoed through the cathedral. “I love you more than anything. And to my unborn son, I leave my entire estate. Every company share, every account, every patent.”
Gasps erupted throughout the room.
The fake paternity papers suddenly looked pathetic.
Ethan’s face hardened.
“And to my mother, Vivian…”
The entire cathedral went still.
“I am broadcasting this simultaneously to TechCore’s board of directors, federal investigators, and every senior executive in attendance today.”
Vivian’s smile vanished.
Madison slowly lowered my ring.
“For the past three weeks,” Ethan continued, “I have been collecting proof of the three million dollars stolen from my children’s medical foundation by Vivian Carter and Madison Carter to pay gambling debts overseas.”
The screen split into multiple documents.
Bank transfers.
Fraudulent accounts.
Forged signatures.
Photographs.
Evidence flooded the screen faster than anyone could react.
The whispers in the crowd turned into horrified shouting.
Board members immediately reached for their phones.
Vivian’s face lost all color as she stumbled backward, clutching the coffin for support.
I stared at the screen in disbelief.
Ethan hadn’t spent his last days focused on business.
He had spent them building a trap.
Then his expression on screen darkened further.
