Chapter 86: "I Killed My Daughter"
Nicole's POV
"A surprise?" She let out a cold laugh. "The biggest surprise for me would be watching you disappear from this world!"
I paid no mind to her curse, smiling as I handed her a gift box.
"This is my wedding gift to you. I wish you a happy marriage."
She stared at the box warily, hesitating to take it.
I raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Afraid to accept it? It's just a small token of my congratulations. Why so nervous?"
Wendy couldn't resist the provocation. She snorted coldly, snatched the gift box from my hands, and turned to leave.
I watched her retreating figure, my lips curving into a mocking smile.
It was just an empty box with nothing inside.
The guests took their seats one by one, and the priest stood on stage, beginning to recite the sacred vows.
Wendy walked slowly onto the stage on Bruce's arm, her face wearing a blissful and bashful smile, as if she were truly a bride immersed in love.
The surrounding guests voiced their admiration, and the photographer kept clicking away.
Everything seemed so perfect.
I sat among the guests, coldly observing this ridiculous performance.
Hodgson sat beside me, his fingers gently holding my hand, as if silently comforting me.
Just as the priest was about to announce the exchange of rings, the doors were suddenly pushed open violently.
The loud crash made all the guests turn their heads.
A middle-aged woman in shabby clothes, disheveled all over, rushed in.
It was Mary.
The timing was perfect.
The priest and security guards reacted, immediately moving to block her, but she shoved them aside.
She charged straight onto the stage, and under the shocked gaze of everyone present, used all her strength to deliver a vicious slap to Wendy's face.
"You ungrateful bitch!"
Wendy stumbled from the blow, and five clear finger marks instantly appeared on her pale face.
She covered her cheek, completely stunned.
The scene immediately descended into chaos.
"You lunatic! Who are you?!"
Bruce's face turned iron-gray. He stood in front of Wendy and roared at the security guards below the stage.
"What are you standing there for?! Throw this madwoman out!"
Several security guards immediately rushed forward, trying to drag Mary away.
"Let go of me!" Mary struggled desperately, screaming, "I'm her biological mother! I have the right to be here!"
These words exploded like a bomb among the crowd.
Bruce froze.
He turned around and demanded in a low voice, "What did she say? Wendy, aren't you the daughter of the Gerald family? Why would you have a mother from the slums?"
Wendy's face turned deathly pale. She shook her head frantically.
"No... that's not true! She's talking nonsense! I don't even know this woman! Bruce, you have to believe me, someone must have sent her to deliberately sabotage our wedding!"
Mary continued making a scene on the side.
"Wendy, how can you say that? You're the daughter I worked so hard to give birth to!"
"Security! Get her out of here now!" Wendy shrieked hysterically.
Two security guards grabbed Mary's arms, preparing to drag her out.
I stood up and shouted, "Wait!"
In that instant, everyone's eyes focused on me.
I walked slowly to Mary and said to the security guards.
"Let her finish what she has to say."
The guards hesitated. They glanced at me, then at Bruce's grim expression.
Just then, a shocked voice came from the crowd.
"Mary? What are you doing here?!"
Doris pushed through the guests, her eyes full of disbelief.
Seeing Doris, Mary became even more emotional.
"Mrs. Doris, you remember me, don't you? I was your family's nanny back then."
She broke free from the security guards' grip.
"Years ago, I deliberately made the Gerald family's real daughter get lost, and then I tricked the Gerrald couple into adopting my daughter Wendy."
"All these years, Wendy has been in contact with me. She was afraid I would expose her true identity, so she kept using the Gerald family's money to support me."
"But now? To marry this rich man, she won't give me a single penny! She wants me to starve to death! I had no choice, that's why I came here to find her!"
The guests were all shocked into silence by this scandalous revelation.
Doris's body swayed, nearly unable to stand.
She rushed onto the stage, her eyes bloodshot as she glared at Wendy, and delivered another hard slap across her face.
"The Gerald family raised you for so many years, and you used our money to support someone else?!"
Wendy tried to open her mouth to argue, but was cut off by another slap from Doris.
Bruce's expression grew increasingly ugly. He felt like he had become the biggest joke in the entire city.
"The wedding is canceled!"
He roared, violently throwing the ring box to the ground, and strode outside.
"No! Bruce! Let me explain!"
Wendy completely broke down. She lifted the hem of her wedding dress and chased after him in a pathetic state.
She threw herself at Bruce's side, kneeling on the ground and clutching his legs.
"Please, don't go! I love you!"
Bruce looked at Wendy with disgust, kicked her away, and then fled in panic under the gossiping gazes of the guests.
At this moment, Wendy was like an abandoned dog, lying on the cold floor, crying desperately.
Suddenly, as if she had gone mad, she scrambled up from the floor and stared at Mary with red eyes.
"It's all you! You ruined everything for me!"
She grabbed a bottle of red wine from the nearby table and charged at Mary with a roar.
Mary screamed in terror and instinctively backed away, but tripped and fell to the ground.
Just as the bottle was about to smash onto her head, in her panic, she pulled out a dagger from her pocket.
It was the dagger I had given her for self-defense.
Wendy charged too forcefully and couldn't stop. Her body, holding the wine bottle high, crashed straight onto the sharp blade.
The knife slid into her chest without resistance.
Wendy's eyes widened. She slowly lowered her head, watching her pure white wedding dress rapidly stained red with blood, and then collapsed heavily to the ground.
Mary looked at her blood-covered hands, then at her daughter lying in a pool of blood, frozen in place.
"No, no... I didn't mean to, I was just defending myself..."
Her eyes began to lose focus, her mouth repeatedly muttering the same words.
"My daughter... I killed my daughter..."
Mary broke down.
She knelt on the ground, holding her head, letting out piercing cries.
The guests fled in terror, scattering in all directions. The scene was utter chaos.
I stood there quietly, coldly watching it all.
Before I came here, I had already called the police.
Soon, the sound of sirens drew closer.
Police officers rushed into the ballroom, quickly securing the scene and taking away the mentally deranged Mary.
Then I turned around and left this scene of carnage with Hodgson.