They Stole My Dress the Night Before My Future Was Supposed to Begin

I ran toward the gate.

Marcus caught my arm before I could reach it.

“Nia, stop!””

“She's in there!””

“I know.””

“Then let me go!””

Hargrove watched us from the porch, his phone still pressed to his ear.

“There's no need to be dramatic,” he called.

“Your mother is perfectly safe.””

Dad stepped forward.

“Let her go, William.””

Hargrove tilted his head.

“Daniel. You really should have stayed where we put you.””

Dad's face hardened.

“You've taken enough from my family.””

“Your family?”” Hargrove laughed.

“You abandoned your wife to die, left your daughter in Vanessa's care, and then disappeared. Don't pretend you're the victim here.””

The accusation struck Dad like a physical blow.

I looked at him.

“Dad?””

He stared at Hargrove.

“He's lying.””

“Am I?”” Hargrove called.

“Shall we discuss the night Evelyn's friend died?””

Evelyn stepped forward.

“Don't you dare.””

Hargrove smiled at her.

“Ah, Evelyn. Still carrying guilt for something you couldn't prevent?””

Her face went white.

I turned toward her.

“What is he talking about?””

She didn't answer.

Hargrove lowered his phone.

“Perhaps you should ask your father's brother. Richard knows the full story.””

He nodded toward the house.

A man appeared behind him.

Tall.

Gray-haired.

Wearing a dark suit.

I recognized him from the photograph.

Richard Vale.

The man who had supposedly disappeared years earlier.

The man who had helped hide my father.

Richard studied me with a strange expression.

“You look just like your mother.””

Dad moved toward the gate.

“Richard, let her go.””

Richard shook his head.

“I'm afraid I can't do that.””

“Why?””

“Because she has something we need.””

I tightened my grip on the brass key.

“The archive?””

Richard smiled.

“Exactly.””

Marcus stepped forward.

“We have copies of the records. The police are already investigating.””

“Are they?”” Hargrove asked.

He held up his phone.

“Because I just spoke to the district attorney. According to him, no complaint has been filed.””

Marcus went still.

I looked at Evelyn.

She pulled out her phone and checked the screen.

“They're blocking the calls,” she whispered.

Hargrove nodded.

“Judge Hargrove has friends in many places.””

Dad's hands curled into fists.

“You can't keep doing this.””

Richard's expression turned cold.

“Of course we can. We have been doing it for fourteen years.””

Fourteen years.

The length of time my mother had supposedly been dead.

The length of time Vanessa had controlled the family.

The length of time someone had been manipulating the truth.

I stepped closer to the gate.

“Why is my mother here?””

Richard looked toward the upstairs window.

“Because your mother knows where the original evidence is hidden.””

“Then why not ask her?””

His expression changed.

“Because she refuses to cooperate.””

I felt sick.

“You've been keeping her prisoner?””

“Your mother is receiving excellent medical care.””

“That's not what I asked.””

Richard sighed.

“Your mother has a complicated condition. She requires supervision.””

Dad shook his head.

“You drugged her.””

Richard said nothing.

That was answer enough.

I grabbed the bars.

“Let me see her!””

Hargrove's smile disappeared.

“Give us the key, Nia. Then you can see your mother.””

I looked at the brass key in my hand.

The key to the archive.

The evidence that could expose everything.

My father reached for me.

“Don't.””

I looked at him.

“Dad, she's my mother.””

“And that key is the only thing keeping them from destroying the truth.””

Richard took a step toward the gate.

“Your father has always been sentimental. It's his greatest weakness.””

He held out his hand.

“You, however, are young enough to make a sensible decision.””

I stared at him.

“You've spent years hurting my family. You helped destroy my father's life. You helped hide my mother. And now you want me to believe you'll let her go if I give you the key?””

Richard's expression remained calm.

“I don't need you to believe me. I need you to decide what matters more.””

He gestured toward the house.

“Your mother or a collection of old documents.””

My throat tightened.

I could see my mother behind the curtain.

I could imagine her calling my name.

I could imagine losing her again.

Then I remembered the recording.

The girl can be controlled.

I looked at Richard.

“You're wrong about one thing.””

He raised an eyebrow.

“I don't have to choose between my mother and the truth.””

I turned toward Marcus.

He gave the smallest nod.

Evelyn stepped away from the gate and began speaking into her phone.

Richard noticed.

“What are you doing?””

Evelyn smiled.

“Something I should have done fourteen years ago.””

She held up her phone.

A red light blinked on the screen.

“Everything you've said has been recorded.””

Hargrove's face twisted.

“Give me that phone!””

He rushed toward the gate.

Marcus pulled the metal pipe from beneath his coat and struck the lock.

The gate swung open.

Dad pushed past him.

I ran.

The guards tried to block the entrance, but Brianna appeared from behind a hedge and hurled a flowerpot through the nearest window.

Glass shattered.

The guards turned toward the noise.

Marcus seized the opportunity and forced his way through the doorway.

Inside, the house smelled of antiseptic and damp wood.

A nurse rushed down the corridor.

“What's happening?””

“Where is my mother?”” I shouted.

She pointed toward the stairs.

“Second floor!””

I ran upward, my vision blurring at the edges.

The pain behind my right eye flared, but I kept going.

At the end of the hallway stood a locked door.

I grabbed the handle.

“Mom!””

A weak voice answered from inside.

“Nia?””

I pressed my forehead against the wood.

“It's me!””

The door opened.

A woman stood beside the bed, one hand gripping the frame for support.

Her hair was silver at the temples, and her face was thinner than the one in my childhood photographs.

But the ring on her finger was unmistakable.

The silver flower.

I stared at her.

She stared at me.

Then her hand rose to her mouth.

“My baby.””

The words broke something inside me.

I crossed the room and threw my arms around her.

She clung to me, trembling, pressing kisses into my hair.

“Oh, Nia. My beautiful girl.””

I couldn't stop crying.

Neither could she.

For several minutes, we stood in the middle of the room, holding each other as though fourteen years could be undone by the strength of our embrace.

Then she pulled back and touched my face.

“Your eyes.””

I tried to smile.

“I'm all right.””

She shook her head.

“No, sweetheart. You're not.””

She looked at my father, who had entered the room behind me.

Daniel stood frozen in the doorway.

My mother stared at him.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then she whispered, “You came back.””

Dad crossed the room and fell to his knees beside her.

“I never stopped trying.””

She touched his face.

“I know.””

I looked between them.

“You knew he was alive?””

My mother nodded slowly.

“Not at first. They told me he had died. Then, years later, they brought me a document to sign. It contained his medical identification number.””

She looked at Dad.

“I realized they had lied.””

Dad closed his eyes.

“I tried to find you.””

“They wouldn't let me leave.””

My mother turned toward me.

“Vanessa told me you had been sent away. She said you wanted nothing to do with me.””

I shook my head.

“No. I thought you were dead.””

She began to cry again.

“They took everything from us.””

I held her hand.

“Not everything.””

She looked at me.

I smiled through my tears.

“You're here.””

A loud crash echoed downstairs.

Then Hargrove shouted, “Get them out of the house!””

My mother flinched.

The fear in her eyes was immediate and terrible.

“They're coming for the records,” she whispered.

“What records?””

She reached beneath the mattress and pulled out a small notebook wrapped in cloth.

“The original ledger. The one that proves who paid for everything.””

I took it.

My mother's fingers closed around my wrist.

“Listen carefully. There is something else you need to know.””

“What?””

She glanced toward the door.

“Vanessa didn't act alone. Richard planned the entire scheme, but someone else arranged the crash that nearly killed your father.””

“Who?””

My mother swallowed.

“The person who gave the order was someone your father trusted more than anyone.””

Dad stood very still.

“Who?””

She looked directly at him.

Then she whispered a name.

“Marcus.””

The room went silent.

I turned toward my uncle.

He stood in the doorway, his face pale.

Dad stared at his brother.

“No.””

Marcus lowered his eyes.

“Daniel, I can explain.””

My mother began to cry.

“He was the one who told Richard where you would be that night.””

Dad stepped toward him.

“You gave them my location?””

Marcus shook his head.

“I didn't know they planned to kill you.””

“You gave them the route!””

“I thought they wanted to scare you into signing the papers!””

Dad struck him.

Marcus stumbled against the wall.

I rushed between them.

“Stop!””

Dad's breathing was ragged.

“You nearly killed me.””

Marcus pressed a hand against his bleeding lip.

“I know.””

“You let me believe you were dead.””

“I had to disappear. They were going to kill me, too.””

I looked at Marcus.

The man who had rescued us.

The man who had helped expose Vanessa.

The man who had stood beside me when I found my father.

He had betrayed us.

And he had also helped us escape.

I couldn't make sense of it.

My mother clutched my hand.

“There's more, Nia.””

I turned toward her.

She looked at the notebook.

“The original ledger contains a second set of records. The payments weren't only for your father's imprisonment.””

Her voice dropped.

“They were also for the person who was supposed to take your place in the inheritance.””

I frowned.

“What does that mean?””

My mother opened the notebook to the final page.

A name had been written beneath a list of payments.

*Brianna Carter.*

I stared at the page.

“Brianna?””

My mother nodded.

“Vanessa planned to have you declared medically incompetent. If your eyesight deteriorated enough, she could claim you were unable to manage your inheritance. Brianna would become the legal beneficiary.””

My stomach twisted.

“But Brianna isn't Dad's daughter.””

My mother looked at me.

“No. But according to the records, someone paid for a DNA test to establish that she was.””

Dad shook his head.

“That test was fabricated.””

My mother turned another page.

A second document was attached to the back.

It was a birth certificate.

Brianna's name appeared at the top.

Beneath it was a line listing the biological father.

Daniel Carter.