Chapter 6 - THE WEDDING THAT NEVER HAPPENED
The ballroom was still decorated.
Three hundred white roses.
Gold chairs.
A six-tier cake.
ISABEL & ADRIAN
Everything ready for a wedding that no longer existed.
We entered through the hotel’s private loading corridor.
Ethan's security had lost contact with Isabel fifteen minutes earlier.
My heart was trying to leave my chest.
“Sophie.”
“She’s with Mason’s wife at the secure apartment.”
Relief.
Tiny.
Then:
“Isabel?”
“Unknown.”
We reached the ballroom.
Voices.
Dominic Vale stood near the altar.
Adrian beside him.
Isabel across the room.
Not restrained.
Not hurt.
Angry.
Good.
Very angry.
“You lied to me my entire life,” Adrian said.
Dominic looked almost bored.
“I protected you.”
“You used my wedding to recover evidence.”
“I protected this family.”
There it was.
The sentence criminals and terrible parents apparently shared.
Isabel saw me.
“Rachel!”
Dominic turned.
Then Ethan entered behind me.
His expression darkened.
“Callahan.”
“Vale.”
Again.
Men and their surnames.
I was exhausted.
Dominic’s gaze settled on me.
“You have something belonging to my company.”
“No.”
“Your father stole documents.”
“My father copied evidence.”
“He was an inspector with a grudge.”
“Seven people died.”
“An accident.”
Ethan spoke.
“Martin Keenan disagrees.”
Dominic’s face changed.
Adrian stared.
“You found Martin?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“Enough.”
Dominic snapped:
“Adrian, stop.”
His son turned.
“No.”
That word echoed.
Isabel looked at him.
Adrian continued.
“You told me Callahan fabricated everything.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“You have no idea what men like him do.”
Ethan almost smiled.
“That's rich.”
I stepped forward.
“Why invite me?”
Dominic looked at me.
“You were invited because you're family.”
“No.”
I was done with elegant lies.
“You tracked me at LAX.”
Silence.
“You pressured Isabel to ask for Mom’s recipe box.”
He glanced toward her.
She looked ashamed.
I continued.
“You knew Dad hid evidence.”
Dominic said:
“I knew Daniel took proprietary records.”
“You knew the locker key was in the box?”
“No.”
Interesting.
He had known about the box but not exactly how.
“Then why the wedding?”
Adrian answered.
“Because Dad knew Isabel wouldn't convince you to come for anything else.”
My sister flinched.
I stared at her.
She whispered:
“I’m sorry.”
I believed her.
Later.
Dominic looked toward Ethan.
“You've got what you wanted.”
“No.”
Ethan’s voice was quiet.
“I wanted my cousin not to die in an apartment fire.”
The ballroom became still.
Dominic looked away.
There.
Human reaction.
Maybe guilt.
Maybe irritation.
“Seven people,” I said.
“Do you know their names?”
No answer.
Ethan did.
He began saying them.
“Maria Alvarez.”
Dominic’s face tightened.
“Samuel Price.”
“Stop.”
“Denise Carter.”
“I said stop.”
Ethan continued.
A child.
A retired teacher.
A nursing aide.
His cousin Patrick Callahan, twenty-three.
Every name.
Dominic finally shouted:
“It wasn't supposed to happen that night!”
Silence.
There.
The confession.
Not perfect.
Enough.
Adrian closed his eyes.
Isabel covered her mouth.
Dominic realized.
Then looked toward the ceiling.
Cameras.
The hotel ballroom was covered in them.
Ethan smiled faintly.
“You always did like surveillance.”
Dominic lunged toward him.
Adrian stepped between them.
“Dad.”
Dominic shoved his own son aside.
Not violently enough to injure.
Enough to reveal everything.
Ethan caught his arm.
Mason and hotel security moved in.
Seconds later, federal agents entered.
Dominic looked around.
Betrayed by his own ballroom.
He stared at Adrian.
“You did this.”
Adrian’s face broke.
“No.”
He looked toward Isabel.
“I finally stopped helping you.”
Dominic was taken away.
The wedding decorations remained.
Absurd.
Beautiful.
Useless.
After the agents left, Isabel sat on the ballroom floor beneath thousands of dollars in flowers.
I sat beside her.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then she said:
“I was supposed to marry him tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“I still love him.”
I looked at Adrian across the room.
He was speaking with investigators.
“That doesn't make you stupid.”
“He lied.”
“So did I.”
She looked at me.
“When?”
“Every time I said I wasn't angry at you for Mom.”
Tears filled her eyes.
We laughed.
Then cried.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“For bringing you here.”
“You thought you were protecting me.”
“Doesn’t make it right.”
No.
But it mattered that she knew.
Adrian approached slowly.
“Isabel.”
She stood.
I did too.
He stopped several feet away.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me.”
“Good.”
His eyes filled.
“I knew my father wanted the box.”
“Did you know why?”
“Not at first.”
“When did you know?”
“Three weeks ago.”
She closed her eyes.
“You still let me invite Rachel.”
“Yes.”
That answer cost him.
Good.
“Why?”
“Because I thought I could control what happened.”
There it was.
Everyone wanted control.
Ethan.
Dominic.
Adrian.
Even Isabel.
Maybe me.
Adrian continued.
“I thought if I got the box first, I could keep Dad away from Rachel.”
“You could have told me.”
“I was afraid you'd leave.”
She looked at him.
“I did anyway.”
He nodded.
No argument.
No proposal.
No dramatic plea.
Just consequence.
He took the wedding ring from his pocket.
Placed it on a table.
Then walked away.
Isabel watched him go.
I hugged her.
Over her shoulder, I saw Ethan standing alone near the ballroom doors.
Watching.
Not approaching.
May you like
Waiting for me to choose whether I wanted him near.
That mattered more than I wanted it to.
