Chapter 3: The Wedding Guest Who Wasn't Invited
Ryan nearly dropped the phone.
Nobody in the chapel moved.
For one terrible second, the only sound was the faint hiss of air escaping from Vanessa's fake pregnancy belly.
Then Marcus spoke again.
“Ethan, are you there?””
I grabbed the phone.
“I'm here. Where are you?””
“I'm in my office. Daniel came through the front entrance about ten minutes ago. He has a weapon, and he's asking for you.””
“Call the police.””
“I already did. They're on their way.””
“Why did you tell me not to let Vanessa leave?””
“Because she's the only person who can tell them where the money went.””
Vanessa twisted free from one of the guests holding her.
“You have no right to talk about me!”” she shouted at the phone.
“Marcus, you promised!””
The line went silent.
I looked at her.
“What did he promise you?””
She backed away.
“Nothing.””
“You just said he promised you something.””
“I was upset.””
“You're always upset when someone asks you a question you don't want to answer.””
Her expression changed.
For the first time since I'd known her, she looked at me without pretending to be the woman I'd fallen in love with.
“Fine,” she said.
“You want the truth? You think you can stand there in your expensive suit and act like you've never done anything wrong?””
I stared at her.
“What are you talking about?””
“You think your business is clean? You think you built everything yourself?””
“My father and I worked for twelve years to build that company.””
“Your father took money from people, too!””
My mother's head snapped up.
“Don't you dare drag my husband into this,” she said.
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“He wasn't the saint you think he was.””
I stepped toward her.
“Explain yourself.””
She shook her head.
“No. I'm done explaining myself to you.””
Then she looked directly at Nora.
“And you should have stayed quiet.””
My daughter buried her face against my mother's shoulder.
Something inside me snapped.
I moved so quickly that Vanessa stumbled backward.
“You will never speak to my daughter like that again.””
For a moment, she looked genuinely afraid of me.
Then the expression disappeared.
“You're going to regret this, Ethan.””
“I'm already regretting it.””
“No. You have no idea what you've lost.””
I looked at the collapsed belly beneath her dress.
“My child?””
Her mouth tightened.
“You'll lose a lot more than that.””
A siren wailed in the distance.
Vanessa glanced toward the chapel doors.
Lauren stepped in front of her.
“Don't even think about running.””
Vanessa's face twisted.
“Move.””
“No.””
“You have no idea what Daniel will do if he finds out you've been talking.””
Lauren swallowed, but she held her ground.
“I've spent six years being afraid of you. I'm finished.””
That stopped Vanessa.
I watched the two sisters stare at each other, and suddenly I understood that whatever had happened between them was older than my relationship with either woman.
There were years of resentment in Lauren's expression.
And fear.
The same fear I'd seen in Nora.
I turned toward my daughter.
“Nora, sweetheart, can you tell me how you got that video?””
She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
“I used your old phone.””
I blinked.
“My old phone?””
“The one in your desk drawer. The one with the cracked screen.””
I remembered it. I'd replaced it months earlier and left it in my home office because I'd been too busy to transfer a few old files.
“How did you get into it?””
“You told me the password when we looked at your pictures.””
I nodded slowly.
“What happened after that?””
Nora glanced toward Vanessa.
“She told me to bring her a charger from your office. I heard voices in the kitchen, so I went to look.””
“And you started recording?””
She shook her head.
“No. The phone was already recording.””
My pulse quickened.
“What do you mean?””
“Vanessa put it on the table. She said she wanted to check the sound before Daniel came over.””
Vanessa went rigid.
I turned toward her.
“You recorded that conversation yourself?””
She said nothing.
Nora continued, speaking faster now, as though she was afraid she'd lose her courage.
“I heard them talking about the baby. I thought they were going to hurt it. Then Vanessa saw me.””
My throat tightened.
“What did she do?””
“She took the phone. She said I wasn't supposed to hear anything. She made me sit in the guest room and promised she'd explain later.””
“Did she hurt you?””
“No.””
“Did she threaten you?””
Nora nodded.
“She said if I told you, she'd make sure you lost everything. She said nobody would believe a little girl over a grown-up.””
I closed my eyes for a second.
When I opened them, Vanessa was staring at Nora with a look so cold that I instinctively stepped between them.
“You're a monster,” Lauren whispered.
Vanessa turned on her.
“You think you're better than me?””
“I think I know what you are.””
“No, you don't!””
The chapel doors swung open.
Two uniformed officers entered, followed by a third carrying a radio. Their eyes swept across the room, taking in the guests, the fallen decorations, and Vanessa's collapsed dress.
One officer approached me.
“Sir, I'm Officer Hayes. We received a report of a possible fraud case and a threat involving a firearm. Who is Vanessa Reed?””
Vanessa immediately lifted her chin.
“I am. And I'm the victim here.””
Officer Hayes glanced at the empty belly beneath her dress.
“Ma'am, we're going to need everyone to remain calm while we sort this out.””
“I'm being harassed,” she said.
“This man attacked me.””
I held up my hands.
“I caught her wrist when she tried to take my daughter's phone.””
“That's a lie!”” Vanessa shouted.
“He grabbed me!””
Ryan stepped forward.
“I recorded the whole thing.””
Vanessa's face drained of color again.
Officer Hayes turned to him.
“Do you have the recording?””
Ryan nodded.
“Yes, sir.””
“Keep it safe. Don't edit it or upload it anywhere. We'll take a copy.””
Another officer approached Vanessa and asked her to step aside.
She refused.
“You can't detain me. I'm getting married today.””
Officer Hayes looked at the abandoned rings on the altar.
“Ma'am, I don't think that's happening.””
A few guests murmured.
Someone near the back gave a nervous laugh, then immediately stopped when Vanessa turned toward the sound.
“You're all making a mistake,” she said.
“Every single one of you.””
I didn't answer.
I was watching the chapel doors.
Marcus had said Daniel was at his office with a gun. The police were on their way there, but that didn't mean the man couldn't leave before they arrived.
And if Daniel knew about the wedding, he might know where I was.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
An unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then a message appeared.
*You should have married her, Ethan. Now you've ruined everything.*
A second message arrived before I could react.
*Ask your daughter what she saw in the garage.*
I felt the blood drain from my face.
The garage.
Nora had been afraid of something long before she'd walked toward Vanessa with that pin. I'd seen it in the way she'd flinched when Vanessa entered a room, the way she'd stopped asking questions about the baby, and the way she'd begun sleeping with her bedroom light on.
I had blamed it on jealousy.
I'd told her she needed to give Vanessa a chance.
I had been so desperate to build a new family that I hadn't noticed my daughter was terrified inside the old one.
I crouched in front of her.
“Nora, did something happen in the garage?””
She looked at my phone.
Then at Vanessa.
Her face crumpled.
“Dad, I didn't want to tell you because she said you'd hate me.””
“Why would I hate you?””
Nora's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Because I saw her put something in your truck.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did she put in my truck?””
She shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“I don't know. It was a black bag. But I heard her talking to Daniel, and she said it was the part that would make sure you never found out.””
I stared at my daughter.
Then I remembered the green-turtle onesie still sitting in my truck, the one I'd bought for the baby I thought was coming.
My keys were in my jacket pocket.
The truck was parked outside the chapel.
And suddenly, I had the terrifying feeling that whatever Vanessa had planned for me wasn't finished just because the wedding was over.
Officer Hayes noticed my expression.
“Sir? Is something wrong?””
I showed him the message.
He read it twice, then looked toward the chapel doors.
“Stay here,” he said.
“Don't touch your vehicle. We'll have an officer check it.””
Vanessa started shouting again.
“You can't do this! You can't take him away from me!””
Officer Hayes turned to her.
“Ma'am, nobody is taking anyone anywhere right now.””
She looked at me, and the mask finally slipped completely.
“You think you've won,” she whispered.
I shook my head.
“No. I think I finally stopped being blind.””
Her lips parted.
For a moment, I thought she might confess everything.
Instead, she leaned closer and spoke so softly that only I could hear her.
“You should have asked your father why he hired Daniel in the first place.””
I froze.
“My father never hired Daniel.””
Vanessa's eyes glistened.
“That's what you were told.””
Before I could respond, Officer Hayes's radio crackled.
A voice came through, urgent and distorted.
“Unit responding to the Mercer residence—possible suspect vehicle located. We have one male down, and the scene is—”
The transmission broke into static.
Officer Hayes grabbed his radio.
“Dispatch, repeat that last message.””
Nothing.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Then my phone rang.
Marcus Bell.
I answered immediately.
“Marcus, what's happening?””
His breathing was ragged.
“Ethan, listen to me. The police found Daniel's car outside your father's old storage unit.””
“My father doesn't have a storage unit.””
“He did. And there's something inside it you need to see.””
“What?””
Marcus hesitated.
Then he said, “A second birth certificate.””
I stopped breathing.
“For who?””
There was a long silence.
Then Marcus answered.
“For Nora.””
May you like
My daughter looked up at me.
And somewhere behind us, Vanessa began to laugh.
