Chapter 10 - The Missing Seven Seconds.
By nine thirty, the video had spread across every major social platform.
The caption called Claire an unstable heiress who attacked her brother at his own wedding.
The clip began with Evelyn crying in the background.
It showed Eleanor asking Claire to stop making a scene.
Then it jumped directly to the slap.
Seven seconds were missing.
Seven seconds that included Evelyn saying Julian pushed her.
Seven seconds that included Julian calling the child a liar.
Seven seconds that showed Claire asking about the red mark on Evelyn's wrist.
Serena stared at the video.
"That angle came from the ballroom media feed."
Claire understood immediately.
The Vale Foundation controlled the official recording system.
Eleanor had access.
Miriam offered to keep the B-17 materials in secure custody while Claire went to the police.
Claire agreed but photographed every page first.
She also copied the flash drive onto two encrypted devices.
One stayed with Miriam.
One went into Claire's purse.
Serena took the third copy.
"If we separate, she cannot erase everything."
Claire looked at her wedding dress beneath the hotel coat.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Serena gave a bitter smile.
"I was supposed to marry Julian last night."
"I think that gives me the right to know who I almost married."
Claire took Evelyn to a police station two districts away from the Vale family headquarters.
A child interview specialist photographed the mark on Evelyn's wrist.
Evelyn told the same story she had told in the ballroom.
She had been looking for Claire.
She saw Julian kneeling beside the wedding display.
He removed a brass key from his pocket and tucked it behind one of the framed photographs.
When Evelyn asked what he was doing, Julian grabbed her wrist.
She pulled away.
He shoved her backward.
Her shoulder hit the display.
The crystal swans fell.
The key dropped onto the floor.
Evelyn picked it up before Julian could.
The detective asked one final question.
"Did anyone else see him push you?"
Evelyn thought carefully.
Then she nodded.
"The camera man."
Claire leaned forward.
"Which camera man?"
Evelyn described a young photographer wearing a green tie.
Serena immediately recognized him.
Noah Grant was an independent documentary photographer hired by her family, not the Vale Foundation.
His contract required him to keep his own raw footage.
Claire called the number listed on Serena's wedding schedule.
No answer.
She called again.
The phone went directly to voicemail.
Serena searched his public profile.
His last post had been made at 10:02 the previous night.
It showed the ballroom before the ceremony.
His location had not updated since.
Claire's stomach tightened.
"Where was he staying?"
Serena gave the address of a hotel six blocks from the venue.
The detective told Claire not to investigate on her own.
Claire agreed.
Then she asked the detective to send officers to check on Noah immediately.
Twenty minutes later, the detective returned with a different expression.
"Mr. Grant checked out at 2:14 this morning."
Claire frowned.
"Where did he go?"
"No one knows."
The detective placed a clear evidence bag on the desk.
Inside was a broken camera memory card found in Noah's hotel trash can.
Claire stared at it.
Then Serena's phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A man's frightened voice whispered through the speaker.
"Do not say my name."
Serena covered her mouth.
May you like
It was Noah.
"I have the seven seconds."
