The Wedding That Died With One Snip

Lauren didn't deny it.

When Daniel showed her the still image from the warehouse security footage, she stared at it for several seconds, then sat down as if her legs had stopped working.

My stomach twisted.

"You told us you wanted to help.""

"I do.""

"You told us Marcus had forced you out of his life.""

"He did.""

"Then why were you at the warehouse with him?""

Lauren looked at the photograph again.

"Because he called me three days ago.""

Rebecca closed the conference room door.

"Start from the beginning. Tell us exactly what happened, and don't leave anything out.""

Lauren clasped her hands together.

"Marcus said he had found proof that his father had hidden something connected to Thomas Carter. He said he needed me to identify a set of financial records because I had worked with the company's accounts.""

"You agreed to help him?"" I asked.

"I agreed to meet him. I didn't agree to help him steal anything.""

"What did he tell you?""

"That if I cooperated, he'd release the money he still owed me and stop threatening to accuse me of fraud.""

I laughed bitterly.

"So he blackmailed you into going to the warehouse.""

"Yes.""

"Why didn't you tell us?""

"Because I was ashamed.""

She looked up at me.

"I spent years telling myself I had escaped him. Then he called, and suddenly I was twenty-six again, sitting in his office while he explained how easily he could ruin my life.""

Her voice cracked.

"I thought if I met him once, I could get the money, give the records to a lawyer, and finally be free.""

Daniel placed the warehouse image on the table.

"Did you enter the building?""

"Yes.""

"Did you remove any documents?""

"No.""

"Did you see Marcus take anything?""

Lauren hesitated.

"Yes.""

My heart sank.

"What did he take?""

"A small metal case.""

"What was inside?""

"I don't know. He wouldn't let me open it.""

Rebecca leaned forward.

"Did he tell you where he found it?""

"Near the old storage office. He said his father had hidden it there years ago.""

I looked at the brass key in my handbag.

"Was the case locked?""

"Yes.""

"Did Marcus have a key?""

Lauren nodded.

"He had a small brass key on his key ring.""

I pulled my mother's key from my handbag and placed it on the table.

Lauren stared at it.

"That's the same key.""

My mother made a frightened sound.

"How could Marcus have a copy?""

Arthur had told us the safety deposit box contained the first part of the evidence. If Marcus had already found a separate metal case, he might have another piece of the puzzle.

Or he might have been searching for something entirely different.

Daniel picked up the key and examined it.

"Did you see Marcus open the case?""

"No. He told me not to ask questions. Then he said the woman he'd married would eventually bring him the rest.""

My skin prickled.

"He meant me.""

Lauren nodded.

"Yes.""

Rebecca wrote something down.

"Did Marcus know you were coming here tonight?""

"I don't know.""

"Did he know you had copies of his financial records?""

"I think he suspected.""

Daniel stood and walked to the window.

"Then the warehouse visit may have been an attempt to retrieve something before the police found it.""

I stared at Lauren.

"Why did you come here with the photograph of us? Why leave that note about my father?""

Lauren looked genuinely confused.

"I didn't.""

"You gave us the photograph.""

"I brought the photograph, yes. But I didn't write the note.""

She turned it over and examined the handwriting.

Then she shook her head.

"This isn't my handwriting.""

Daniel retrieved the original photograph from the evidence folder.

"Where did you get it?""

"It was inside a package Marcus sent to my apartment two weeks ago. There was no return address. I thought it was his way of reminding me that he could still reach me.""

"Why bring it here?""

"Because I recognized the restaurant. It was the same place where he took me the night he told me he was ending our engagement. I thought the photograph might help prove he had been lying about his personal life.""

I studied her face.

For the first time, her fear looked less like an act and more like the expression of someone who had spent too long being manipulated.

But trust was no longer something I could offer simply because a person cried.

"Do you have the original package?"" I asked.

"Yes. At my apartment.""

"Then we'll have a lawyer arrange to collect it. Don't go there alone.""

She nodded.

Daniel's phone vibrated.

He read a message, then turned toward us.

"The police have located Marcus's car. It's parked near the warehouse, but he's not inside it.""

"Where is he?"" I asked.

"They're trying to establish his location.""

My mother stood.

"We need to go home.""

I looked at her.

"Mom, we can't go back there yet.""

She glanced toward the window.

"I can't spend another night wondering what someone will do to that house.""

Daniel made a call and arranged for a security team to inspect the property before we returned. Rebecca insisted that my mother stay with me at a secure hotel until the police confirmed the area was safe.

It was nearly two in the morning when we finally left the office.

I couldn't sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Marcus standing beside Vanessa, watching my mother cry.

Then I saw the warehouse footage.

Marcus carrying a metal case.

Lauren walking beside him.

My father's photograph.

The signature on the old payment authorization.

And Daniel Whitmore's surname at the bottom of the document.

At 3:12 a.m., I got out of bed and called Daniel.

He answered immediately.

"Nia?""

"Did you find anything about the Whitmore signature?""

There was a pause.

"Yes.""

I sat on the edge of the bed.

"What did you find?""

"The signature belongs to my father.""

I closed my eyes.

Daniel continued before I could speak.

"My father worked with Richard Brooks during the early years of the company. He was an investor, not an employee. He signed several financing documents, but I have never seen this particular authorization.""

"Could he have helped Richard?""

"I don't know. My father died twelve years ago. I was estranged from him during the final years of his life.""

"Why?""

"He had a gambling problem. He lost money, borrowed against assets, and made decisions that damaged our family. I believed he'd cut ties with Richard long before his death.""

I rubbed my forehead.

"So your father might have been involved in what happened to mine.""

"Possibly. But we need proof.""

"How much did you know about Marcus's company?""

"Enough to know there were irregularities. That's why my firm delayed the investment. I didn't know the irregularities went back this far.""

I was quiet for a moment.

Then I asked the question I'd been avoiding.

"Did you know who I was before the wedding?""

Daniel didn't answer immediately.

"I knew your name appeared in the loan documents. I did not know you were Thomas Carter's daughter until tonight.""

"Could your father have known?""

"Yes.""

"And could Marcus have known that you were investigating his company?""

"Absolutely.""

The pieces began to form a shape I didn't like.

Marcus had been trying to obtain the ledger. Daniel's firm had been examining the company. Someone had sent us a photograph of Marcus and Lauren. Someone else had threatened us with pictures of our house.

And every road seemed to lead back to the same circle of people.

"Daniel," I said, "what if the person who sent the messages wants us to blame Marcus for everything?""

He was silent.

"What makes you think that?""

"Because the messages keep pointing us toward him. The warehouse. The photograph.

The key. It's almost too convenient.""

Daniel exhaled.

"That's a possibility we need to consider.""

At 6:40 a.m., Rebecca called.

"The police have recovered a partial copy of the warehouse's security system. There's footage from another camera that wasn't included in the first report.""

I sat upright.

"What does it show?""

"Marcus entering the building. Lauren leaving twenty-three minutes later. And someone else arriving after both of them were gone.""

"Who?""

"An employee of Whitmore Capital.""

My blood ran cold.

"Which employee?""

Rebecca hesitated.

"Daniel's chief financial officer, Peter Lang.""

I remembered Peter from a charity dinner the previous winter. He'd been charming, impeccably dressed, and eager to discuss the company's planned investment in Brooks Development Group.

He'd also asked me several questions about my mother.

At the time, I'd assumed he was making polite conversation.

Now I wondered whether he had been assessing an asset.

Rebecca continued.

"There's something else. The footage shows Peter carrying a black case out of the warehouse.""

"The same case Marcus took?""

"We can't confirm that yet.""

I called Daniel immediately.

He answered on the first ring.

"I know," he said before I could speak.

"How?""

"Rebecca just called me. Peter hasn't come to work this morning, and his company phone is switched off.""