Chapter 4 - The Swap
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Within three minutes, Arthur personally rolled out two identical blue velvet chairs from the private storage room. The ballroom was still empty, the low amber lighting casting long shadows across the polished dance floor.
“Place the clean one where my wife is sitting,” I instructed quietly. “And move that one—the glued chair—to the bride’s spot.”
Arthur glanced at the chair, noticing the glistening, sticky residue smeared across the seat cushion. His eyes widened slightly in professional shock, but he was far too disciplined to ask questions.
“Understood, Mr. Vance,” Arthur said, carefully swapping the furniture with practiced precision.
Once the chair was positioned directly behind the bride’s head table place setting, I pulled out my phone again. I took four crisp, high-resolution photographs: one of the glued chair in its original position, one of the empty super glue tube lying inside Vanessa’s bag, one of the chair now placed at her assigned seat, and a close-up of the security camera hanging near the doorway.
I checked my watch. The reception was set to begin in fifteen minutes.
I walked back to the main lobby, where Elena was sitting on a plush sofa, nervously adjusting her simple silver bracelet. She looked up at me, offering a gentle, tired smile that warmed my heart.
“Where were you, Robert?” she asked softy. “I was getting worried.”
“Just checking on the arrangements, sweetheart,” I said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Everything is right where it needs to be.”
She patted my hand.
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“I hope Vanessa likes the flowers,” Elena murmured, looking down at her hands. “I tried to tell her the lilies were fresh, but she seemed so annoyed with me earlier.”
“Don't worry about Vanessa tonight, Elena,” I said quietly, guiding her toward the grand ballroom doors. “Tonight, everyone is going to get exactly what they deserve.”
