Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 134: Chapter 134

"Let’s go."

Ethan noticed his best man, Adam, raise an eyebrow at the demand. Adam glanced down at his wristwatch and broke into a grin.

"It’s still early, Ethan," he said, looking up with amusement.

"And so?" Ethan replied flatly.

Adam chuckled. "You’re too excited. There might not even be anyone at the church yet."

"I’ll wait for Lane there. As my best man, you need to support me," Ethan said firmly.

He had nothing left to do in the hotel room anyway. He was already fully dressed and simply waiting out the clock, so heading to the venue made the most sense. He could double-check that everything was in order, even though Miss Ivy had already assured him the setup was flawless.

Without waiting for a reply, he strode out of the hotel room.

He heard Adam laugh and follow behind. Before exiting the building entirely, however, he stopped by the suite where his parents and Calvin were staying.

He planned to invite them along or let them know he was heading ahead if they needed more time. Knocking three times, he waited until the door swung open to reveal his father.

"Ethan."

"Daddy!" Ethan looked past his father as Calvin called out to him. A warm smile broke across his face at the sight of his son looking sharp in a miniature black tuxedo that matched his own.

"Daddy, you look handsome," Calvin said, running up to him.

Ethan reached down to ruffle his son’s hair. "You too, son."

"Anyway, what are you doing here so early?" his father asked.

"Let’s go to the church," Ethan replied.

Instead of grabbing his jacket, his father checked his watch.

"The wedding isn’t until four o’clock, Ethan," he noted, his brow furrowing slightly in confusion as to why they were being rushed out the door.

Before Ethan could answer, Adam chimed in from the hallway.

"He said he’ll wait at the church, Tito. He’s way too excited to see his bride," Adam teased with a laugh.

Ethan shot his best man a withering glare, but Adam only grinned back. Seeing as everyone was already dressed, the family agreed to the plan and headed out together.

Adam rode with Ethan, while his parents and Calvin took a separate vehicle, though Calvin had thrown a minor fit over wanting to stay glued to his grandparents’ side.

Because they were ahead of schedule, the church was still relatively quiet when they arrived, populated only by Miss Ivy’s decorating crew.

Ethan took a moment to appreciate the sanctuary, which was practically overflowing with fresh flowers at Lane’s request.

"Daddy!"

Moments later, his family’s car pulled up.

"Don’t run, Calvin," Ethan called out instinctively, terrified his son might trip in his dress shoes and trigger a lecture from Lane. Calvin slowed to a trot, marching over to wrap his arms tightly around Ethan’s leg.

"Daddy, where’s Mommy? Isn’t she here yet?"

"Not yet, buddy. But she will be soon."

"I miss Mommy, Daddy," Calvin mumbled.

"Me too, son. I miss her too." They hadn’t seen each other since leaving the mansion the day before.

Phone calls helped, but it wasn’t the same as having her close enough to hold.

Still, Ethan knew the wait was almost over. After today, they would finally be a complete family, never to be separated again.

Calvin stayed glued to his side for a while, though he soon abandoned adult conversation to chat with Adam.

Since Adam was a natural charmer, the two hit it off immediately, leaving Ethan shaking his head in amusement as his son dissolved into fits of laughter at Adam’s jokes.

Gradually, the guest pews began to fill. The bridal party arrived, and the church buzzed with anticipation.

As four o’clock drew closer, a heavy wave of nerves hit Ethan. His palms broke out in a sudden, cold sweat.

Damn. So this was what real wedding nerves felt like. He certainly hadn’t felt this way when they tied the knot before a judge years ago, back when anger and resentment had fueled his every move.

.....

Adam clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Ethan, Lane and the entourage are on their way."

The anxiety spiked.

Miss Ivy bustled over to instruct him to take his place at the altar. Ethan fell into position, watching the doors.

Soon enough, Lane’s parents arrived, escorted down the aisle. Ethan had pulled out all the stops, arranging a private medical transport to fly her father home from abroad so he could make the ceremony.

Ava, serving as the maid of, hurried in shortly after. Ethan let out an internal breath of relief; he had been genuinely terrified Lane might call off the wedding if her best friend remained missing.

He spotted Noah hovering near the back, looking as though he wanted to approach Ava, but Ava immediately turned her back and vanished into the crowd of bridesmaids. Noah hesitated, his shoulders slumping before he took a seat.

Ethan didn’t have time to dwell on it. His eyes remained fixed on the church doors, waiting for the moment Lane would walk through in her gown.

Five minutes ticked past the hour, then ten. No bridal car.

Ethan’s brow furrowed. Miss Ivy hurried over, whispering, "The bride isn’t here yet, Sir Ethan. Let’s just give it a few minutes."

He forced a nod. But as the clock pushed past fifteen minutes, cold dread pooled in his stomach. Unable to sit still, he walked over to Lane’s parents.

"Auntie, why hasn’t she arrived yet?" he asked, panic creeping into his tone.

"She’s on her way, we left right behind her," Cathleya replied, looking just as confused. Ava rushed over, equally bewildered.

The nervous murmurs of the guests began to fill the quiet sanctuary.

Ethan yanked his phone from his pocket and dialed Lane’s number. It rang, went dead, and then straight to voicemail on the second try.

"I can’t get through to her," Ethan said, his voice tight. The color drained from the faces of Lane’s family.

"Call the driver," Noah urged, stepping forward from the pews.

Ethan immediately motioned to Miss Ivy to ring the bridal car’s chauffeur. A minute later, Miss Ivy lowered her phone, her face pale.

"I... I can’t reach him either, Sir Ethan."

Lane felt the world spinning violently when she clawed her way back to consciousness. Her jaw dropped in sheer terror as she took in her surroundings. She was trapped in a dark, derelict room, the walls covered in incomprehensible graffiti.

A sharp, stale odor of urine hung heavy in the air, turning her stomach.

She tried to shift, only to realize her wrists and ankles were bound tightly to a wooden chair. To make matters worse, she was still trapped inside the heavy layers of her wedding dress.

Panic set in as her mind raced backward. She remembered being in the back of the bridal car, watching the scenery blur past until she noticed they were taking a completely wrong turn. When she leaned forward to question the chauffeur, her blood ran cold.

The man behind the wheel wasn’t their usual driver. It was Uncle Lucas.

Before she could scream, he had lunged backward, clamping a chemical-soaked rag over her nose and mouth. The darkness had swallowed her whole after that.

Lane fought against the rising panic, desperate to keep her breathing steady for the baby’s sake. Tears streamed down her face like a broken dam.

Was Ethan standing at the altar right now, wondering where she was? How long had she been unconscious?

She prayed desperately that Uncle Lucas still viewed her as family, that he wouldn’t harm her or her unborn child.

The screech of rusted hinges broke her thoughts. The heavy door groaned open, and Uncle Lucas stepped into the dim light.

Lane gasped. He looked like a ghost of himself—gaunt, pale, with deep, bruised circles carved beneath hollow eyes. He looked broken down and feral.

"U-uncle Lucas..."

"You’re finally awake," he rasped, his voice dead and cold.

"P-please let me go. I’m begging you," she sobbed, tears splashing against the front of her gown.

.....

"Not until I get what I’m owed."

"W-what do you want?" she cried, willing to sacrifice anything for her freedom and her child’s safety.

Uncle Lucas let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "All of Ethan’s wealth."

Lane stared at him in disbelief. Greed had completely rotted his mind. "You can’t be serious..."

"It’s your fault!" he snarled, taking a threatening step forward.

"All of this is your fault and your father’s! You’re the curse on this family, Lane. If your father hadn’t forced Ethan into that marriage, my daughter, Olivia, would have had everything. I would have had everything Ethan owns! I wouldn’t be hiding like a hunted animal right now!"

Lane shook her head frantically. "We didn’t ruin your life! You did that to yourself with your gambling debts!"

"Shut your mouth unless you want to get hurt!" he snapped, raising a hand.

Lane flinched, biting her lip so hard she tasted copper. She forced herself into silence, terrified of provoking him further.

"I’m going to call Ethan now," Lucas muttered, pulling out a burner phone with a trembling, filth-stained hand.

"And if he wants to see his glowing bride and his bastard child alive, he’ll sign over every single asset to my name."

Here is the continuation formatted to match your requested character replacements:

he would strike her and trigger a miscarriage.

Uncle Lucas smirked down at her trembling form.

"Just pray that Ethan loves you enough, Lane. Because if he doesn’t hand over his entire empire, you’re never seeing the light of day again."

"Y-you know he can’t just hand over everything..."

"Too bad," Uncle Lucas sneered, turning toward the exit. "Looks like there won’t be a happy ending for you after all."

Nearly five hours had vanished into a blur of pure panic since Lane went missing.

When the thirty-minute grace period at the church had stretched into an hour, Ethan’s gut instinct screamed that something catastrophic had happened.

The venue had dissolved into chaos. Calvin had wept inconsolably once he realized his mother was gone.

Ethan had instructed Miss Ivy to dismiss the guests gently before tearing out of the church with Adam and Noah in tow. They had hit every local police precinct and mobilized every contact they had to check hospital admissions and accident reports.

Morgan had called an hour later, confirming she hadn’t been brought to any medical facility.

Adam’s connections in the department confirmed no highway collisions matched her route.

Ethan felt like he was suffocating. The thought of losing Lane, of losing the woman who had become his entire world, made his chest seize.

"Who was the last person to speak with Ma’am Lane before she left the mansion?" the lead investigator asked once they regrouped at the living room of the estate.

Ava raised a shaky hand. "I was." Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot from crying.

"Did she mention anything unusual?"

Ava shook her head. "No. She was just... so excited to finally marry Ethan."

Ethan felt a physical blow to his chest at the words. If she hadn’t vanished into thin air, they would be celebrating right now.

"Sir?"

Ethan blinked, turning his attention to Lily, who was hovering near the hallway.

"Sir, the visitor Ma’am Lane spoke to right before we left... it was Ma’am Olivia."

Ethan’s jaw locked, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

"What are you talking about, Lily?" he demanded, his voice a low, lethal rumble.

"Ma’am Olivia came to the mansion earlier, Sir Ethan. She insisted on speaking with Ma’am Lane privately."

Ethan’s fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned stark white.

"Find Olivia," he ordered, his voice dripping with venom.

If Olivia had anything to do with this, she had just signed her own death warrant. He had spared her in the past for Tyler’s sake, but if she had dared touch Lane, absolute hell would follow.

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