Nobody touched the USB.

For several seconds, the entire ballroom remained frozen.

The guests who had arrived wearing expensive suits and beautiful dresses now stood like strangers inside a nightmare.

A wedding had become an investigation.

A bride had become a suspect.

A family secret had become public.

And a little girl was standing at the center of it all.

Darius looked at Marcus.

“You said you know who Ava’s father is.””

Marcus nodded.

“Yes.””

“Then tell me.””

Marcus smiled.

“No.””

The answer surprised him.

Darius stepped forward.

“Why not?””

“Because you need to hear it.””

Marcus pointed at the USB.

“From them.””

His eyes moved toward Nia.

Nia looked exhausted.

Like she had spent years running from this exact moment.

Darius turned toward her.

“Tell me.””

She looked at Ava.

“I wanted to.””

“When?””

“I don’t know.””

The answer angered him.

“You don’t know?””

“I was afraid.””

“You keep saying that.””

Nia wiped her tears.

“Because it’s true.””

Darius looked away.

“I spent years wondering why you disappeared.””

“I thought leaving was the only way to protect her.””

“Protect her from me?””

“No.””

Nia shook her head.

“From everyone.””

Marcus laughed softly.

“Still making yourself the hero.””

Nia looked at him.

“You have no idea what I went through.””

“I know exactly what you went through.””

“Then you know why I did it.””

Marcus’s expression changed.

For the first time, the confidence disappeared.

Only for a second.

But Darius saw it.

There was history between them.

Painful history.

“Someone explain,” Darius said.

Nia looked at Ava.

Then at Darius.

“I was pregnant before you left.””

Darius frowned.

“I know.””

“No.””

Her voice cracked.

“You knew I was pregnant.””

The room became silent.

“But you didn’t know everything.””

Darius stared.

“What else?””

Nia looked down.

“The timeline.””

His face changed.

“What timeline?””

Marcus answered.

“The one that proved you weren’t the father.””

Darius looked at him.

“Then why are you saying she is?””

Marcus smiled.

“Because I changed the results.””

The confusion became unbearable.

Darius looked between them.

“You’re telling me the test was fake, but you’re also saying the original test proved something else?””

Nobody answered.

Finally, Simone spoke.

“I think that’s what he wanted.””

Everyone looked at her.

She stepped forward slowly.

“He wanted Darius confused.””

Marcus looked annoyed.

“Stay out of this.””

“No.””

Simone looked at Darius.

“He wanted you to doubt everyone.””

Darius stared at her.

“Why?””

“Because a person who trusts nobody is easier to control.””

The words were true.

And everyone knew it.

Marcus looked at Simone.

“You’re suddenly very brave.””

“I’m finally done being afraid of you.””

That surprised everyone.

Especially Darius.

Simone looked at the USB.

“The second recording.””

She took a breath.

“Play it.””

Nia immediately said:

“No.””

Darius looked at her.

“Why?””

Nia’s eyes filled with tears.

“Because Ava is here.””

Ava stepped forward.

“I want to know.””

Everyone looked at her.

Darius immediately knelt.

“Ava.””

She looked at him.

“I’m tired of people whispering.””

Her voice shook.

“I’m tired of everyone knowing things except me.””

Darius felt his heart break.

He looked at Nia.

Then at Marcus.

Then at Simone.

Finally, he nodded.

“Okay.””

Ava pressed play.

The speakers came alive.

At first, there was only silence.

Then a woman’s voice.

A voice nobody expected.

Nia’s voice.

But younger.

Years earlier.

“If you’re listening to this, it means I failed.””

Nia covered her mouth.

Darius looked at her.

The recording continued.

“I wanted to tell the truth from the beginning.””

Ava stared at the speakers.

The voice continued.

“But Marcus convinced me nobody would believe me.””

Marcus’s expression changed.

Darius looked at him.

“You threatened her?””

Marcus didn’t answer.

The recording continued.

“He told me Darius would take Ava away.””

Nia’s younger voice sounded broken.

“He told me I had no chance.””

Darius closed his eyes.

The pain on his face was impossible to hide.

The recording continued.

“But I need Ava to know something.””

Everyone listened.

“You were never a mistake.””

Ava’s eyes filled with tears.

Nia began crying silently.

“You were loved before you were born.””

The room became emotional.

Then came the sentence that changed everything.

“I know who Ava’s real father is.””

Darius froze.

Marcus stopped smiling.

Simone looked shocked.

The recording continued.

“But the reason I hid it is because the person who should have protected her…”

A pause.

A long pause.

Then:

“...was the person who wanted her gone.””

The speakers went silent.

Nobody moved.

Darius slowly turned toward Marcus.

Marcus’s face had changed.

The calm mask was gone.

Because he knew.

Everyone knew.

The recording wasn’t accusing Nia.

It was accusing him.

Then the audio continued with one final sentence.

“Ava’s father is not the man Marcus told me he was.””

Darius held his breath.

The ballroom waited.

The recording was about to reveal the name.

And then—

The speakers suddenly cut out.

The screen went black.

A notification appeared.

*FILE DAMAGED. SECOND PART UNAVAILABLE.*

Ava looked confused.

Darius looked furious.

Marcus smiled.

Because someone had stopped the recording.

And whoever did it was still inside the ballroom.