The stranger didn’t wait for permission. He tapped his screen, instantly casting the footage to the ballroom’s massive projector.
The wall lit up. The kitchen video resumed exactly where the waitress’s clip had ended.
On screen, Daniel pocketed his little glass vial and scurried out the door. The kitchen sat empty. One minute passed. Then two.
Then, the swinging doors pushed open again.
A collective shudder ripped through the guests.
It was Olivia.
In the video, the bride hummed a cheerful tune, her white gown trailing across the tiles. She walked straight to the cake. She leaned in, carefully inspecting the top tier. She noticed the slightly disturbed frosting where Daniel had just emptied the liquid.
She didn’t panic. She didn’t run for help.
Instead, she smiled. A cold, calculated smirk that made the real-life guests instinctively back away from her.
On the projector, Olivia calmly placed her hands on the heavy silver cake stand. With one smooth motion, she rotated the entire five-tier masterpiece exactly 180 degrees.
The poisoned section wasn’t facing her anymore. It was now positioned perfectly for the groom’s traditional first bite.
The video ended. The screen went pitch black.
The ballroom was dead silent.
Daniel stumbled backward, his chest heaving, eyes wide with horror. He hadn’t been terrified of the waitress exposing his murder plot. He was terrified because he just realized how dangerously close he’d come to his own execution.
Olivia stood entirely still amid the ruined cake and smashed porcelain. The frightened, betrayed victim act completely vanished from her face.
She slowly reached down, swiped a finger through the safe, un-poisoned frosting on the floor, and tasted it.
She locked eyes with her trembling groom.
“Such a shame,” she whispered. “I was really looking forward to feeding you.”