The cake was eleven feet of sugar and ivory, and it was already moving toward his mouth when Marisol Vega crossed the ballroom floor at a dead run.

Before dawn, Marisol was transported in an armored black SUV to a high-security penthouse in downtown Seattle.

When the private elevator doors opened, Emilio was waiting in the sleek living room, pacing nervously. The moment he saw his sister, he rushed forward and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Marisol!" Emilio gasped, pulling back to look at her. "These men with suits picked me up at my dorm at two in the morning! They said you were in danger! What is going on?!"

"I'm okay, Emilio," Marisol reassured him, holding his arms tightly. "Mr. Hawthorne kept us safe."

"Mr. Hawthorne?" Emilio frowned. "The billionaire?"

"He's the one who paid for your school, Emilio," Marisol explained softly. "And tonight... someone tried to kill him."

Over the next twelve hours, the penthouse became a command center. Adrienne worked alongside his chief of security, a retired special forces officer named Marcus. High-resolution screens lined the walls, tracking Vance Global Holdings' stock drops and live surveillance feeds from the city.

Marisol sat at the dining counter with the encrypted tablet Adrienne had given her, reviewing the guest list and vendor logs from the wedding.

"Look at this," Marisol called out, pointing at the screen.

Adrienne walked over, leaning over her shoulder. "What did you find?"

"The floral delivery vendor," Marisol pointed out. "The white lilies were ordered through my company, but the catering linen service was hired through a third-party subcontractor called Luxe Linen Solutions."

Adrienne nodded. "That's standard for large events."

"No," Marisol said, zooming in on the company's corporate registry. "Luxe Linen was registered three weeks ago. The owner's listed address is a small warehouse in the industrial district near the docks. The same district where your logistics trucks operate."

Marcus stepped forward, checking his secure database. "She's right. Luxe Linen's bank accounts trace directly to a shell company owned by Vance Global."

"That's how they smuggled the poison onto the estate grounds," Adrienne realized, his eyes sharp. "Not in Celeste's purse... it was hidden inside the catering delivery boxes. Celeste picked it up from the kitchen."

Suddenly, the red alarm on Marcus's phone began to chime loudly. He glanced at the screen, his expression instantly darkening.

"Sir, we have a breach," Marcus reported calmly but urgently. "The police precinct holding Celeste Vaughn just reported a power outage. Two armed men posing as federal agents entered her cell ten minutes ago."