Doria finished the champagne in two large gulps. She set the glass down hard.

"I'm going to the VIP Suite to... prepare things," Doria said. She fanned herself with her hand. "Is it hot in here?"

The drug was fast.

"Go," Janey said softly. "I'll come as soon as the ceremony is over."

Doria nodded, her eyes already looking a little glassy. She grabbed her purse and swayed slightly as she walked to the door.

"Don't be late," Doria slurred slightly, then giggled. "Or Carter will get impatient."

She left.

Janey walked to the door and locked it.

She found a hotel notepad and a pen on the desk. She needed an outside line, a trusted one. She scribbled a number from memory and a short, coded message.

She opened the door just a crack. A junior staffer was rushing by.

"Excuse me," Janey said, her voice urgent but low. "Can you get this to Vivian Roy? It's an emergency regarding the floral arrangement." She pressed a folded hundred-dollar bill from the emergency cash sewn into her gown into the staffer's hand along with the note. "Immediately."

The staffer, wide-eyed at the cash, nodded and scurried away.

Janey closed the door. She breathed. The message was simple: V. VIP Suite cam. Diagnostic window @ ceremony start. Switch source. For Mom.

"Aunt Vivian?" she whispered to the empty room. "Please."

She knew from her past life that Vivian, the outcast of the Roy family, was the only one who had ever shown her kindness. She also knew Vivian had been an A/V club nerd in college. And she knew the Walton estate's security system had a sixty-second diagnostic loophole that ran like clockwork at the start of any major event, temporarily unencrypting the internal feeds. A flaw Austin would never admit to.

This wasn't hacking. It was exploiting a known variable.

A knock on the door.

"Miss Roy? It's time."

Janey took a deep breath. She checked her lipstick.

She opened the door.

Marcus was waiting. He offered his arm, looking impatient.

"Don't trip," he muttered. "And smile. You're worth five billion dollars today."

Janey took his arm. Her nails dug into the fabric of his expensive suit, hard enough to pierce.

"Don't worry, Father," she said. "This is going to be a wedding no one will ever forget."

The organ music swelled. The heavy oak doors of the chapel swung open.

The aisle stretched out before her, lined with hundreds of people who didn't care if she lived or died.

At the end of it stood Austin.

He looked impeccable. Powerful. Cold.

He watched her approach. His eyes locked onto hers.

Janey didn't look down. She held his gaze.

She gave a microscopic nod.

Austin's eyebrows twitched. He saw the signal.

The game was on.

Janey reached the altar. Marcus practically shoved her hand into Austin's.

Austin's hand was dry and cool. As his fingers closed around hers, he leaned in, ostensibly to kiss her cheek.

"Is it done?" he murmured against her skin.

"Watch the screens," Janey breathed back.

They separated. They turned to face the officiant.

"Dearly beloved," the priest began, his voice booming through the acoustics of the cathedral-style ballroom. "We are gathered here today to unite these two families..."

Janey stared straight ahead. Her heart was hammering against her ribs, but her face was a mask of serene devotion.

She counted the seconds.

One. Two. Three.

The officiant droned on about unity and legacy. The guests shifted in their seats.

"And now," the priest said, gesturing to the massive LED screens flanking the altar, "let us look back at the journey that brought us here."

The lights dimmed.

The screens flickered to life.

For a moment, it was a montage of childhood photos. A young Austin. A young Doria (with Janey's face expertly photoshopped in for public consumption). Polite applause rippled through the crowd.

Then, the image distorted. Static cut across the smiling faces.

The feed switched.

The resolution was grainy, a security camera angle, high up in a corner. But the picture was clear enough.

It was a bedroom. The VIP Suite.

Two figures were on the bed.

A collective gasp sucked the air out of the room.

The woman was on top, her pink maid-of-honor dress torn at the shoulder. She was frantic, her movements wild and uncoordinated.

"Doria?" someone whispered in the front row.

The man beneath her turned his face to the side.

Carter Hayes.

He was laughing, gripping Doria's hips, but he was looking at the door, shouting something.

The audio feed kicked in with a screech of feedback.

"Babe!" Carter's voice boomed through the wedding speakers. "Your sister is all over me! You better get up here!"

Silence. Absolute, dead silence.

Doria, delirious, grabbed Carter's face. "Austin... just sign the papers... give me the money..."

The crowd erupted.

Marcus Roy dropped his champagne glass. It shattered, the sound like a gunshot. His face drained of all blood.

Helene Roy, Doria's mother, stood up and screamed. "Turn it off! Turn it off!"

She scrambled toward the A/V booth, but the door was locked. Vivian had done her job.

On the screen, Doria was kissing Carter, mumbling about the stock price and the prenup.

Austin stood perfectly still. He looked up at the screen, his expression unreadable. Then he turned to look at Janey.

Janey brought her hands to her mouth. She widened her eyes. She took a stumbling step back.

"Doria?" she cried out, her voice breaking perfectly. "Carter? How could they?"

She looked like a woman whose heart had just been ripped out.

Austin caught her arm, steadying her. His grip was firm. He looked into her eyes and saw the calculation behind the tears.

He stepped up to the microphone.

"It seems," Austin said, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade, "that the Roy family has provided a very specific dowry."

He looked out at the horrified board members, the gleeful press, the ruined Roys.

"Cut the feed," he ordered calmly.

The screens went black.

But the damage was nuclear.

"Get out of my way!"

Marcus kicked the door of the VIP Suite open. The wood splintered.

He stormed in, followed by Helene and a swarm of security guards. A few reporters had slipped past the cordon, their phones raised, recording everything.

The smell in the room was sour-sex and sweat.

Carter pushed Doria off him. He looked at the door, dazed. The drugs weren't in his system, but the shock was paralyzing him.

"Mr. Roy," Carter stammered, pulling his shirt together. "This isn't-she came onto me-"

Marcus didn't listen. He punched Carter in the jaw.

Carter stumbled back, crashing into a side table.

Doria was rolling on the bed, giggling. "Daddy? Did we win?"

Helene threw a coat over her daughter, sobbing. "Stop filming! Get out! Everyone get out!"

Downstairs, the ballroom was a hive of activity.

Austin stood in the center of the storm, an island of calm. He was directing his security team with hand signals.

Janey stood beside him. She was dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

A board member, a heavy-set man named Sterling, marched up to them.

"Walton! This is a circus! Is this the merger we voted for?"

Austin turned his cold gaze on Sterling. "This is a private moral failure of the Roy family. It has no bearing on the asset valuation of the merger. In fact, given the breach of conduct, we will be renegotiating the terms."

Janey stepped forward. She lowered the tissue.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Sterling," she said, her voice soft. "I had no idea my sister hated me this much. To ruin the family name just to hurt me..."

She looked fragile. Innocent.

The elevator doors pinged open.

Security dragged Carter and a stumbling Doria into the lobby. Marcus followed, looking like a man walking to the gallows.

Doria saw Janey. The fog in her brain cleared for a second, replaced by pure venom.

"You!" Doria shrieked, pointing a shaking finger. "You did this! You gave me that drink!"

The lobby went quiet.

Janey gasped, shrinking behind Austin.

Austin stepped in front of her. He was a wall of black wool and muscle.

"Are you accusing my wife," Austin said, his voice dangerously low, "of forcing you to drink alcohol while you were having sex with her ex-boyfriend?"

"No!" Doria cried. "It was the drug! The drug for you! She switched it!"

Gasps.

Doria froze. She realized what she had just said.

Carter closed his eyes.

"The drug for me?" Austin repeated.

Janey peeked out from behind Austin's arm. She looked at Doria, her eyes wide with feigned horror and confusion.

"A drug?" Janey asked, her voice trembling. "Doria... what were you planning? You came to my room earlier... you said you had a way out for me..."

Doria's drug-addled mind couldn't follow the trap. All she saw was betrayal. "I told you!" she screamed at her father. "I told you the plan! The sedative for Austin! To void the prenup so she could leave with the money!"

It was a death sentence, confessed live.

Marcus turned on his daughter. His face was purple.

He slapped her.

The sound was wet and heavy. Doria fell to the floor, clutching her cheek, staring up at her father in shock.

"You stupid, stupid girl," Marcus hissed.

Janey watched them. She felt nothing. No pity. No joy. Just the cold satisfaction of a balanced equation.

She looked up at Austin. He was looking down at her.

He saw the setup. He saw the manipulation.

He didn't look angry. He looked impressed.