Chapter 45 – Stains Beneath The Glass
Back at Mist Estate.
Clara's voice was heard
"But you never erased my blood." The words echoed through the cathedral, heavier than any gunshot.
Security stirred. Black suits advanced—silent, lethal, precise.
Andrea lifted a single hand. Every guard froze instantly.
Clara's gaze did not waver.
"I am not here for forgiveness," she said. "I am here for recognition."
Andrea leaned toward Joss and murmured something low and cold.
Joss's face betrayed nothing.
But he nodded.
"The vows were completed." She paused"The declaration was spoken," she continued calmly. "The ring was placed".
She lifted her hand slightly. The ring caught the cathedral light.
Within seconds, every guard behind Joss pivoted—not toward Clara, but toward the exits.
" Although the kiss did not occur. That is irrelevant." She paused, then turned slightly toward the priest. "It doesn't matter… right, Father?"
The priest stood rigid. Uncertain.
"I am legally married. I know I am."
The statement landed like a gavel. Violet's breath faltered.
The men all left. Quietly. Deliberately. Like shadows retreating into the night.
Outside, engines roared. Black sedans ignited one after another, doors snapping shut in perfect rhythm. Calls were made before the gates even closed.
"This wedding is invalid," kingsley snapped.
"Then challenge it." Clara replied smoothly.
A ripple passed through the guests.
None of the guests noticed the men leaving. None—except Andrea, Aiden, and Violet.
Violet stood near the doors, breath uneven, eyes tracking every movement.
This was no longer disruption. This was war.
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Clara, calm and untouched, watched Kingsley. And he watched her.
"You want to oppose this marriage?" Her voice was a knife, calm, precise. "Be careful, Mr. De'ora."
The hall held its breath.
"There are truths you signed away," she continued, lifting the folder, deliberate, unflinching. "But there are also truths you tried to bury."
Kingsley's jaw tightened.
"You have already destroyed enough. I've had enough of this spectacle," he said, but his voice lacked conviction.
Clara's gaze sharpened.
"Oh no," she said softly. "You've had enough. But I'm just getting started."She mocked "Shall we speak about the men you sent? Or the accident that nearly ended me?"
She smiled eerily
A ripple of tension ran through the front rows. Lily went pale.
Before Clara could continue, Andrea stepped forward.
"Enough. Enough of this nonsense."
His voice rose slightly—and yet it commanded the room. The hall itself seemed to lean toward him.
"If there is a claim," he said evenly, "we verify it."
Silence fell. Then, deliberate.
"A DNA test."
The words dropped like a bomb with a timer.
Kingsley snapped his head toward Andrea. "That is unnecessary. She is clearly lying."
"It is necessary Father-in-law.." Andrea replied and blinked his eyes twice at Kingsley. "This will settle the matter.
But every eye in there could see the truth—The resemblance was undeniable. No one dared say it aloud.
Procedures mattered. But delay matters more.
Clara's lips curled into the faintest smile.
"I expected you wouldn't simply accept my word," she said. "Fine."
She extended her hand, commanding.
"Test it." She turned to Kingsley.
"You'll need science to confirm what you—", She paused her gaze sweeping through everyone in the hall. " What all of you—already know."
Kingsley said nothing. But he did not refuse again.
The priest stepped aside. Phones lowered. Guests shifted. The decree was final.
Swabs were collected under everyone's watchful eyes.
No private rooms. No hidden doors.
Clara made sure of it.
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After the swabs were collected.
Christopher stepped forward. "I'll accompany the samples." He offered.
Joss, still in the hall, said, "So will I."
A pause. Then another man—John, Kingsley's own— also offered to join them.
No one trusted anyone. And nobody bothered to hide it.
The samples left under three pairs of eyes.
Black sedans roared behind a white ambulance, exiting Mist Estate in formation.
Inside the hall, tension settled like a storm.
Unknown to the guests. The moment the convoy cleared the gates, Aiden sent a single message: Delay the results.
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After the men Left.
Some of the guests left.
Those who understood that family matter—no matter how explosive—should not be consumed in public.
The rest remained. Curiosity outweighed caution. None would leave before the verdict.
Not now, when history unfolded beneath the stained glass.
Melissa was part of those who left. She moved quietly, with precision, blending into the departing crowd.
Violet's eyes caught her for a heartbeat. Melissa paused, then winked. Subtle. Knowing.
Then she vanished beyond the gates.
Violet's fingers tightened. Her pulse thumped against her ribs.
Vira's voice whispered in her mind.
"Host… where is she going?"
Violet's eyes tracked Melissa. "I don't know," she murmured. Then paused, her expression hardened. "Vira. I need you to do something, can you do it ?."
"What is it host" asked Vira
I want everything on Julia Crescent.The last seven years. Where she lived. Who she met. What she hid.
A beat.
"Oh," Vira purred, delighted. " You want me to dig into your twin's secrets? Of course I can. But host , It will cost you star points, host."
"Do it" replied Violet.
"I love this." Squealed Vira
And so she began.
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Meanwhile the hall held Its Breath
Clara stood at the altar. Not beside Andrea, not far from him. Kingsley remained standing. Andrea did not sit. No one spoke of annulments or arrests.
It was all silent.
The chandeliers hummed faintly overhead, like the pulse of the coming storm.
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Violet and Viras POV
Thirty minutes later.
It took Vira thirty minutes to extract everything she could.
Although small amount of star points was deducted, it was worth it.
Vira spoke again, this time , her tone was excited.
"Host it's done… your twin is quite fascinating."
"What did you find?" Asked Violet
"Seven years ago," Vira answered smoothly, "Clara was admitted to Blossom Medical's private surgical wing. Emergency surgery. Sponsored personally by Christopher Delavin."
Violet crossed her arms. "Why?" She asked
"She was dying. She was beaten. Later that night, she was involved in a car accident. Her organs stopped working. Her system also stopped working."
"It didn't just stop. Its died."
Silence
"That kind of loss breaks people." Said Vira
"Continue". Said violet
" The blossoms family intervened, host do you remember, they are the one who stole your father's hard work, causing you to make the bone restoration pill."
"Them, what does the blossoms have to do with Clara". "How do they know each other?" Violet asked, surprised.
"Well Magnus blossom, the head of the Blossom empire—his wife is Christophers distant aunt.he so he agreed to save her. "But he demanded a condition"
A beat.
"What condition?" Asked Violet not surprised.
"Christopher's loyalty."
Violet's gaze sharpened.
"And Christopher agreed without hesitation" finished Vira.
"Why would he go to that extent for Julia?" . Violet asked
" Love host, he is in love with her. And love makes a fool out of the clever," Vira said, then teased. "You should know that by now, host."
"Do you want to die today, Vira?" Violet asked flatly.
"Sorry, host… pfft," Vira laughed softly then said. "Let's continue."
" Anyway Clara survived. But something… broke. Mentally. Deeply."
"She repeated the same phrases—every day, every hour—obsessively, violently, unpredictably.
She was a shadow, a weapon, a storm contained inside her own mind."
"Christopher not being able to bear seeing her that way… panicked. He begged Magnus for help again."
Magnus agreed. He found a solution—not a doctor, not a psychiatrist. "Guess what he found host ".
"What". Asked Violet
"An exorcist," Vira answered, almost gleeful. "Even billionaires need spiritual maintenance."
Hearing that, Violet almost laughed. She swallowed it.
But if you look closely, you will find a small twitch at the side of her lips.
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Meanwhile —
At Migan City General Hospital
Fluorescent lights hummed over the sterile floors. But the hum carried weight— calculations, anticipations.
When Jeff received Aiden's text. He did not flinch.
He was the center of a storm that no one else could see yet.
He went ahead and explained what needed to be done to his colleagues before the DNA swabs arrived.
The DNA samples arrived thirty minutes later, sliding across the counter with deliberate precision. Jeff didn't touch them immediately. He let them sit.
"The machines are reporting a malfunction," he informed them calmly. "The swabs would be under triple supervision. Its will take two hours for the results to be out."
Christopher hovered near the lab counter. He pulled out his phone to inform Gloria: A minor delay occurred. Nothing more.
John stood opposite him, watching his every move.
Joss leaned against the wall, arms folded.
Trust is a luxury none of them possessed. And they knew it
After the call, Christopher agreed to proceed.
Jeff, who knew what to do, exhaled slowly.
He and his colleagues immediately got to work.
Everything moved deliberately, flawlessly—like a grand chessboard.
Swabs rotated, samples scanned, forms signed, machines calibrated.
Every step was methodical. Every delay intentional. Control was not just maintained—it was asserted.
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At Mist Estate
An hour passed, but inside the grand hall, it felt like a lifetime.
Tension was a living thing, wrapping around the guests, pressing down like gravity.
Clara, drained yet composed in her own way, sank into a seat with the poise of a general surveying the battlefield after a skirmish.
Fatigue tugged at her, but even exhaustion could not break the mask she wore.
Kingsley and Lily were seated nearby. They sat rigid. aware the board was larger than they understood.
Andrea sat beside his father, posture perfect, expression unreadable.
His eyes flicked to Violet once, then stopped. The air shifted when Violet entered his line of sight, standing alone, lost in thought. Admiration filled his heart
Although it's her wedding, their wedding, that was ruined. She did not sit. She did not look flustered. She did not need to.
She stood grounded. Calm. Untouched —Power was visible in the curve of her shoulders, the calm of her gaze, the unspoken understanding that she controlled everything in the room, even the invisible.
In that moment, he understood again—Violet was untouchable.
The storm could rage around her, schemes could form, secrets could emerge, but she stood unshaken.
He felt the ache in his chest— love, pride, fear, anticipation—but forced himself back to the discussion with Aiden. The game was not yet over, and focus was survival..
The war was quiet. But it was far from over.