Chapter 4: The Envelope Marked Daniel's Secret
I stared at the photograph for almost a full minute.
Four champagne glasses. A hotel bedside table. A white envelope reflected in the mirror.
And two words written across it.
*DANIEL'S SECRET.*
"Did you know about this?"" I asked.
Daniel stood beside me, looking at the screen.
"No.""
"Have you ever received an envelope like that from Vanessa?""
"No, Emma. I've never seen it.""
Sophie folded her arms.
"Could she be bluffing?""
"Possibly," Daniel replied.
"But I don't want us making assumptions.""
I zoomed in on the photograph again.
The reflection was blurry, but I could make out another detail. There was a small gold sticker sealing the envelope.
Vanessa loved dramatic gestures. She'd once given me a birthday present inside seven different boxes, each wrapped separately, just to make me work for it.
She liked making ordinary things feel like secrets.
And now she was using that habit to frighten me.
"Claire," I said, "which room is Vanessa in?""
"Room 816. Directly beside yours.""
"Has she checked out?""
"No. I spoke to reception. She's still registered.""
"Can you arrange for someone to collect that envelope?""
Claire shook her head.
"Not without a reason to enter her room.""
Daniel stepped forward.
"Then we tell the police what we've found.""
Mr. Harris agreed.
He contacted the local police and explained the suspected theft of the wedding rings, the forged authorization forms, and the attempted access to my room.
While we waited, I opened Vanessa's photograph one more time.
Something else caught my attention.
The champagne glasses were arranged in a straight line, but one had a lipstick mark on its rim.
Dark red lipstick.
Vanessa always wore pale pink.
Chloe wore red.
I remembered the voice from the recording.
What if she finds out?
It had been Chloe.
I turned to Sophie.
"Do you think Chloe knows more than she's admitting?""
Sophie looked uncomfortable.
"I don't know. She's always followed Vanessa around.""
"That's not an answer.""
She sighed.
"Emma, I once saw Vanessa take Daniel's phone at your engagement party. She said she was checking a photograph, but she kept it for nearly ten minutes.""
My stomach tightened.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I thought she was just being annoying. And because I didn't want to interfere.""
I looked at the phone in my hand.
For months, people had seen pieces of something I hadn't.
And every time, they'd chosen silence.
At 5:38, two police officers arrived.
I explained everything from the beginning.
I showed them the recording, the forged signature, the security footage, and Vanessa's message.
One officer, a woman named Detective Miller, listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she asked, "Do you have the original wedding rings?""
"No. Vanessa collected them yesterday.""
"Have you contacted her about returning them?""
"No.""
"Good. Don't contact her yet.""
She looked through the evidence.
"The hotel has preserved the footage. We'll need statements from the staff member who released the rings and anyone who witnessed the collection.""
"What about the envelope?"" Daniel asked.
"We can ask the hotel to preserve the relevant corridor footage and speak with the guest. But unless there's evidence of an immediate threat, we won't enter her room without appropriate grounds.""
I nodded.
I wasn't expecting the police to magically solve everything before sunrise.
I only needed them to understand that this wasn't a misunderstanding between two bridesmaids.
It was deliberate.
After the officers finished taking our initial statements, Detective Miller pulled me aside.
"Ms. Carter, I need to ask something uncomfortable.""
"Go ahead.""
"Has your friend ever threatened you directly?""
I thought about Vanessa's jokes.
The comments about me being boring.
The way she'd said nobody would believe me.
Then I remembered something from the previous month.
She'd been helping me try on my wedding dress when she'd suddenly said, "You know, Emma, some women spend their whole lives getting everything they want without realizing how easily it can be taken away.""
At the time, I'd laughed.
Now I wasn't laughing.
"Not directly," I said.
"But she has made comments like that.""
Detective Miller wrote something down.
"Tell me everything you remember, even if it seems insignificant.""
At 6:12, my phone rang.
Vanessa.
I looked at Daniel.
He shook his head slightly.
I answered and put it on speaker.
"Emma!"" Vanessa sounded cheerful. Almost too cheerful.
"You're awake!""
"Yes.""
"Are you okay? You didn't answer my message.""
"I'm fine.""
"Good. I was worried.""
There was a short pause.
Then she asked, "Are you still in 814?""
I looked at Detective Miller.
"No.""
Another pause.
"Oh. Where are you?""
"Why?""
Vanessa laughed.
"Because I was going to bring you breakfast, silly.""
"That's thoughtful.""
"Of course. It's your wedding day. I want everything to be perfect.""
I glanced at the police officer.
"Vanessa, did you sleep well?""
"Not really. Too excited.""
"Me neither.""
Then she said something that made my blood run cold.
"By the way, sweetheart, don't forget the little surprise I mentioned.""
"What surprise?""
She laughed softly.
"Daniel will explain everything.""
The call ended.
Daniel stared at me.
"I have no idea what she's talking about.""
I believed him.
But I also knew Vanessa wouldn't have mentioned Daniel's secret without a reason.
At 6:29, Detective Miller received a call.
She listened, then looked at me.
"We've located the envelope.""
My heart jumped.
"Where?""
"In the hotel's lost-property office.""
I blinked.
"What?""
"An employee found it beside the service lift about twenty minutes ago. It appears to have fallen from someone's handbag.""
Detective Miller placed a photograph on the table.
The envelope was white, sealed with a gold sticker.
Across the front, in Vanessa's handwriting, were the words:
*DANIEL'S SECRET.*
May you like
And beneath them, in smaller letters:
Open before the ceremony.
