Chapter 3: The Truth Behind The Envelope
Nobody moved.
Nobody even whispered.
Marcus stared at Evelyn as if he had forgotten how to breathe.
“What did you just say?””
Evelyn looked heartbroken.
“I’m sorry, Marcus.””
“No.””
His voice cracked.
“No, explain.””
Brielle stepped forward.
“Aunt Evelyn, stop.””
But Marcus turned toward his sister.
“Were you involved?””
Brielle’s face went pale.
The answer was already there.
I felt my knees weaken.
Marcus grabbed my hand.
“Emma, sit down.””
“I’m okay.””
I wasn’t.
But I didn’t want to collapse.
Not in front of her.
Not in front of everyone.
Marcus guided me toward a chair while still holding the file.
“Tell me the truth.””
Brielle’s eyes filled with tears.
“I never wanted this to happen.””
Marcus stared at her.
“That’s not an answer.””
She looked around the room.
“My wedding…”
Marcus interrupted.
“Forget your wedding.””
The pain in his voice was worse than anger.
“You destroyed my wife in front of everyone because you were trying to hide something.””
Brielle looked at me.
“You don’t understand.””
I laughed quietly.
The sound surprised even me.
“You’re right.””
I looked at her.
“I don’t understand.””
My voice shook.
“I don’t understand how someone can sit beside me while I’m crying over losing my child, then turn around and hurt me.””
Brielle looked away.
Marcus opened the file again.
Inside were medical records.
Several pages.
A handwritten note.
And a photograph.
He pulled it out.
His face changed.
“What is this?””
I couldn’t see the photo.
But Brielle could.
And she started crying.
“Give it to me.””
Marcus stepped back.
“No.””
The room watched as the powerful, confident bride finally broke.
“I said give it to me!””
Her voice echoed.
Marcus looked at the photograph.
Then at her.
“Why do you have a picture of Emma’s ultrasound?””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
Brielle covered her mouth.
Marcus looked at me.
“She had it.””
I felt sick.
“That was mine.””
I remembered that photo.
The one I had carried everywhere.
The first picture of my baby.
The picture I thought was lost after the hospital.
“How did you get that?””
Brielle didn’t answer.
Marcus’s voice became quiet.
“Brielle.””
She finally whispered.
“Because I was there.””
My heart stopped.
“What do you mean?””
She cried.
“I was there when you went to the hospital.””
The memory hit me.
The hallway.
The waiting room.
The nurse telling me someone had brought my belongings.
I had assumed it was Marcus.
But it wasn’t.
It was her.
“You took my file,” I whispered.
Brielle shook her head.
“No.””
“Then why do you have my ultrasound?””
She looked at the floor.
“Because I needed proof.””
Marcus frowned.
“Proof of what?””
Brielle didn’t answer.
Evelyn did.
“Proof that the babies were connected.””
Marcus looked confused.
“Connected?””
Evelyn sighed.
“There is something Brielle never told you.””
The entire room waited.
“She had been receiving fertility treatments.””
Brielle closed her eyes.
Marcus looked at her.
“Why didn’t I know?””
“Because I didn’t want anyone to know.””
“Why?””
Her voice broke.
“Because I failed.””
Marcus looked shocked.
“Failed?””
Brielle wiped her tears.
“You always thought I had the perfect life. The perfect career. The perfect future.””
She looked at me.
“But I couldn’t have the one thing I wanted.””
A horrible silence followed.
Then she said:
“When Emma lost her baby…”
Her voice became barely audible.
“I lost mine too.””
I felt cold.
“What?””
Brielle looked at me.
“I was pregnant.””
The room erupted in whispers.
Marcus stepped backward.
“You were pregnant?””
She nodded.
“I never told anyone.””
“Why?””
Her eyes moved toward me.
“Because I blamed her.””
I stared.
“Me?””
Brielle’s tears fell.
“You got pregnant naturally. You had everything I wanted.””
My hands tightened around my stomach.
“So you destroyed me because you were jealous?””
“No!””
Her answer came too quickly.
“I didn’t mean for things to happen this way.””
Marcus looked disgusted.
“What things?””
Brielle didn’t respond.
And that scared me more than anything.
Because there was still something she wasn’t saying.
Marcus lifted the final page of the file.
His eyes scanned the words.
Then he looked at me.
His face had lost all color.
“Emma…”
I whispered:
“What?””
He turned the page around.
At the bottom was a signature.
A doctor’s signature.
And beneath it was a sentence that made my entire body freeze.
*Patient confirmed pregnancy loss caused by unauthorized medication exposure.*
Marcus looked at Brielle.
“Who gave my wife that medication?””
Brielle started shaking.
And then someone’s phone rang.
Everyone looked toward the sound.
A wedding guest slowly pulled out her phone.
Her face changed.
“Brielle…”
The bride looked up.
“What?””
The woman swallowed.
“There’s a message from the hospital.””
Marcus grabbed the phone.
The message contained one name.
The person who had accessed Emma’s medical records.
The person who had requested the medication.
May you like
And it wasn’t Brielle.
It was someone Brielle had been protecting.
