CHAPTER 6 – A Wedding They Could Not Stop
CHAPTER 6 – A Wedding They Could Not Stop
For exactly five seconds, no one moved.
Then Detective Laura Kim was already on her phone.
“Call the venue back,” she told Emma. “Tell them not to change anything else until they speak directly to law enforcement.”
Emma nodded and hurried into the next room.
I felt dizzy.
“They knew the password.”
Rebecca folded her arms.
“That means whoever called had access to information intended only for immediate family.”
Noah looked at me.
“Did you ever tell anyone besides your parents?”
I shook my head.
“The venue coordinator gave it to me during the planning meeting. Mom insisted on keeping a copy ‘in case of emergencies.’”
Rebecca sighed softly.
“This wasn't random.”
Twenty minutes later, the venue manager, Diane Foster, joined us on a video call.
She looked mortified.
“I am so sorry.”
“It isn't your fault,” I said.
She explained what had happened.
A woman had called that morning using my full name, wedding contract number, and security password.
She knew the catering schedule.
The florist's delivery time.
Even the location of the backup marriage license.
“There was no reason for us to doubt her,” Diane admitted.
“What made you question it?” Detective Kim asked.
“She asked for all deposits to be refunded into a different bank account.”
The room fell silent.
“So she wasn't just trying to cancel the wedding,” Noah said.
“She was trying to steal the deposits.”
Diane nodded.
“That raised a red flag.”
Detective Kim smiled for the first time all day.
“They just made another mistake.”
She immediately requested the call recording.
“If the caller impersonated Hannah for financial gain, that's another criminal offense.”
For the first time since this nightmare began, it felt like the lies were beginning to work against the people telling them.
By early afternoon, Noah and I met with our officiant.
Pastor Michael listened quietly as we explained everything.
When we finished, he closed his notebook.
“I have one question.”
I braced myself.
“Do you still want to marry each other?”
Noah answered before I could.
“Yes.”
The pastor looked at me.
“And you?”
I smiled through tears.
“More than ever.”
He stood.
“Then we'll get married.”
I blinked.
“But the venue—”
“Is only a building.”
“The guests—”
“Can be notified.”
“The decorations—”
He chuckled.
“My wife and I got married in my parents' backyard with folding chairs.”
Noah laughed.
Pastor Michael smiled warmly.
“A marriage isn't made by centerpieces.”
That evening Detective Kim called with another update.
“We identified the voice from the cancellation call.”
I held my breath.
“It wasn't your mother.”
“It wasn't?”
“No.”
She paused.
“It was your father's executive assistant.”
I frowned.
“Why would she do that?”
“We're finding out.”
Less than an hour later came another surprise.
The assistant, Linda Perez, asked to meet detectives voluntarily.
She arrived carrying a cardboard storage box.
Inside were years of files.
Printed emails.
Financial statements.
Copies of property transfers.
“What is all this?” Detective Kim asked.
Linda looked exhausted.
“My resignation.”
She took a deep breath.
“I can't help him anymore.”
“Him?”
“Your father.”
My pulse quickened.
Linda opened one of the folders.
“These are records he ordered me to destroy.”
She slid them across the table.
“He's been moving money between companies for almost two years.”
Another folder.
“These are loans.”
Another.
“These are overdue notices.”
Another.
“These are emails discussing Hannah's inheritance.”
I couldn't breathe.
My name appeared dozens of times.
Not as a daughter.
As an asset.
One email from six months earlier caught Detective Kim's attention.
It had been sent from my father's account to Ethan.
Its subject line read:
After the Wedding
The message was painfully short.
Once Hannah marries you, the transfer issue disappears.
I'll handle the rest.
Detective Kim looked at me.
“Did you ever agree to marry Ethan?”
“Never.”
She nodded.
“Then this becomes very important.”
Late that night, another knock came at Emma's front door.
Everyone froze.
Detective Kim's officers were already stationed outside.
One of them opened the door cautiously.
A delivery driver stood there holding a long white box.
“There’s no sender listed.”
The officers scanned it.
No explosives.
No hazardous materials.
Inside was a wedding veil.
My wedding veil.
The one I'd chosen months earlier.
It had been slashed straight down the middle with something razor sharp.
Pinned to it was another handwritten note.
Some things cannot be repaired.
Noah looked at the ruined veil.
Then at me.
Without saying a word, he walked upstairs.
Five minutes later he came back carrying a small wooden box.
“What is that?” I asked.
“My grandmother's sewing kit.”
He handed it to Emma.
“Can you fix it?”
Emma examined the delicate lace.
“It won't be perfect.”
Noah smiled.
“It doesn't have to be.”
The next afternoon was supposed to be our rehearsal.
Instead, it became something entirely different.
Detective Kim called everyone together.
“The district attorney has approved arrest warrants.”
The room went silent.
“For whom?” I whispered.
She looked directly at me.
“Your father.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“And Victor Sloan.”
I searched her face.
“My mother?”
Kim hesitated.
“Not yet.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
“Why not?”
“Because right now we can prove she poured the water.”
Rebecca answered quietly.
“But we still need to prove intent beyond the assault itself and her role in the larger conspiracy.”
I nodded slowly.
It wasn't the answer I wanted.
But it was the truth.
Then Kim's phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
Her expression changed instantly.
“What happened?”
She stood abruptly.
“The officers went to serve the warrant.”
My heart pounded.
“And?”
She looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and urgency.
“Your father emptied his office three hours ago.”
“He's gone.”
Before anyone could react, another officer rushed into the room holding a tablet.
“They found his car.”
“Where?”
The officer looked directly at me.
“In the parking garage... beneath your architecture firm.”
Every eye turned toward me.
Because if my father had disappeared...
and his last known location was the building my grandfather had left me...
May you like
there was only one question left.
What had he gone back to destroy?
