Chapter 3

Aaron instinctively furrowed his brow, a sense of foreboding welling up inside him.

He then took Siena's hand and said coldly, "You've got the wrong person. My wife is right here beside me. How could she have been brutally murdered?"

My soul floated to Aaron's side, watching them in their expensive wedding attire, holding hands affectionately. My heart ached.

Our wedding, back then, was attended by only a handful of people.

Aaron was in the early stages of his startup at the time, with no money to spare. He bought me a wedding dress from a group buy online.

Now, looking at Siena's floor-length gown, I wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and tear it to shreds.

The police officer spoke again, "We're referring to Ms. Estelle. Although we don't know what happened between you, her phone only lists you as her sole family contact. So please, come with us."

That's right. Shortly after Aaron and I got married, both my parents passed away.

From then on, the only family I could rely on were him and Siena.

Back then, Aaron had held my hand and vowed, "You've endured so much hardship with me. Once our company takes off, I promise I'll make it up to you."

"Estelle, I'll always be by your side, taking the place of your parents."But he broke his promise, betraying me with my equally important best friend.

The wedding venue instantly erupted into chaos, with guests whispering and gossiping.

"I saw that livestream a few days ago too. I thought it was just a prank, can't believe it was real!"

"Tell me about it! But this Estelle, is she really the big boss's wife? If so, why don't any of us know her?"

Aaron's face darkened as he turned to glare at his secretary. "What livestream? What trouble has Estelle gotten into now?"

The secretary nervously opened his phone and handed the screen recording to Aaron.

"I tried to report this to you a few days ago, sir, but you said you didn't want to hear anything about Miss Channing, so..."

I found it laughable. So someone had already tried to tell Aaron about this.

If he had even a shred of feeling left for me, he might have tried to save me.

After all, the ransom was nothing compared to their wedding of the century.

But to my surprise, watching me struggle in agony in the video, Aaron just let out a contemptuous sneer.

"That can't possibly be Estelle. She's such a wimp - forget cutting off a finger, she'd scream bloody murder over a little scrape."This person is clearly AI-generated, it's just..."

His voice cut off abruptly the moment he saw my full face.

"How is this possible? This person looks so much like Estelle?"

The police officer spoke again, his tone urgent, "Mr. Shaw, we've already verified this video. It's absolutely impossible for it to be AI-generated. Stop doubting and come with us now."

Meanwhile, Siena was visibly losing her composure.

She clung tightly to Aaron's arm, "Don't go with them, Aaron. Today is our wedding day, for heaven's sake."

"Estelle must not want to see us tie the knot, so she hired these fake cops to crash our wedding."

Hearing this, the officer, infuriated, immediately pulled out his badge.

"Watch your words, ma'am. We're legitimate officers. We don't play act for anyone."

I stared at her coldly, more convinced than ever that she was involved with the kidnappers.

We had grown up together since childhood, and my parents treated her like their own daughter.

Siena came from a poor family, with a father who was a gambling drunk, prone to beating and cursing at her.

I felt sorry for her, always letting her hide at my place. During school, I often stood up for her, chasing away those who looked down on her.I had our family, who showed her nothing but kindness.

Yet now that everyone knows I'm dead, she doesn't feel even a shred of guilt, only wanting to rush Aaron through with the wedding.

Aaron was already shaken. The usually decisive and efficient man could barely stand, having to lean on the desk just to keep his balance.

"Are there any other videos? I need to see them."

The secretary swallowed nervously, "Boss, in your condition, maybe you shouldn't watch any more?"

Aaron shook his head, "I have to confirm if this person is really Estelle!"

I understood him, and knew Aaron's current panic and anxiety weren't an act.

But for some reason, I felt not only completely unmoved, but even a slight vindictive pleasure.

Even if I couldn't do anything to him now, it felt good to upset him a little.

After forcing himself to watch all the videos, Aaron couldn't hold back any longer and bent over to vomit.

Meanwhile Siena stood irritably to the side, grinding her teeth and muttering, "Estelle, you bitch! Why can't you leave us in peace even after you're dead? I was so close to finishing the wedding!"

Finally, Aaron recovered enough to speak. His eyes were bloodshot as he told the police, "The wedding is postponed. I'll go with you to identify the body."