“I didn’t do anything,” I said, my voice shaking as I gestured toward Ethan. “He is the one who moved the money, and he used my credentials to do it.”

“Save it for the police, Claire,” Vanessa spat, her eyes cold and glittering under the room’s harsh vanity lights. “How could you try to ruin my wedding day like this?”

The second guard reached out and took my arm, his grip firm and unyielding as he pulled me away from the vanity.

“Please don’t make a scene, ma’am, just walk with us,” he said, guiding me toward the door.

They escorted me out of the suite and down the long, carpeted hallway of the Whitmore Hotel.

Instead of taking me to a quiet back office, they led me straight toward the grand ballroom where the reception was scheduled to begin.

The double doors were wide open, and the scent of expensive white lilies and champagne drifted out into the corridor.

Guests stood in clusters near the entrance, holding crystal flutes and murmuring as they saw me flanked by guards.