Chapter 1: The Wedding That Almost Became a Funeral
“Daddy! DON’T SAY I DO! MOMMY IS UNDER THE POOL!””
The scream shattered the wedding music.
Three hundred guests turned toward the little girl running down the marble aisle. Her white flower-girl dress was torn at the hem. Her silver shoes were gone. Blood streaked the bottoms of her tiny feet.
Marcus Reed stood beneath a magnificent floral arch, holding the hands of the woman he was about to marry.
His six-year-old daughter was screaming.
And his bride was trying to stop him from listening.
“Daddy!”” Ava cried again.
“Please! Mommy is under the water! She's not moving!””
Marcus dropped the microphone.
“Ava?””
The little girl crashed into his legs, wrapping both arms around him.
“Daddy, please save Mommy!””
Marcus dropped to his knees.
“Sweetheart, look at me. Where is your mommy?””
Ava pointed toward the enormous swimming pool beyond the reception terrace.
“Under there! I saw her!””
Behind him, Vanessa tightened her grip around his wrist.
“Marcus, don't.””
He turned slowly.
His bride was still smiling at the guests.
Her ivory wedding gown shimmered beneath the afternoon sunlight. Her diamond necklace rested perfectly against her collarbone. Not a strand of her carefully arranged hair had moved.
But her fingernails were digging into his skin.
“Vanessa,” Marcus said quietly, “let go of my arm.””
She leaned closer.
“If you walk away from this altar, we're finished.””
“My daughter says someone is drowning.””
“She's confused.””
“She says her mother is in the pool.””
“Claire is probably somewhere causing another scene.””
Ava shook her head violently.
“No! Aunt Vanessa pushed Mommy!””
The music stopped.
A guest gasped.
Marcus stared at his daughter.
“What did you just say?””
Vanessa's smile finally disappeared.
“Marcus, don't you dare believe that.””
But he had already noticed something.
She wasn't looking at Ava.
She was looking at the pool.
And she looked terrified.
Twenty minutes earlier, Marcus had believed he was about to have the happiest afternoon of his life.
The Hawthorne Estate, just outside Charleston, South Carolina, was decorated with white roses, crystal chandeliers, and hundreds of tiny candles.
The reception terrace overlooked a beautiful blue swimming pool surrounded by stone columns and flowering magnolia trees.
Marcus had spent nearly eight months planning the wedding.
At forty-one, he owned a successful construction company and had finally convinced himself that his difficult years were behind him.
His first marriage to Claire had ended three years earlier.
Their divorce had been bitter.
There had been lawyers, custody arguments, accusations, and months when every conversation between them seemed to turn into another argument.
But they had a daughter.
Ava was the one thing they had never stopped agreeing about.
She lived primarily with Claire and spent weekends and holidays with Marcus.
He had promised himself that no matter what happened between him and Claire, Ava would never feel abandoned.
Then Vanessa appeared.
She was thirty-six, sophisticated, beautiful, and exceptionally good at making people feel important.
She remembered birthdays.
She sent handwritten thank-you notes.
She brought Ava expensive dolls and called her princess.
When Vanessa suggested that Ava should be the flower girl, Marcus had been genuinely touched.
He thought he had found someone who would love his daughter.
He had no idea how wrong he was.
“Are you nervous?””
Vanessa's voice brought him back to the present.
She stood beside him in her ivory gown, adjusting his black tie.
“A little,” Marcus admitted.
Vanessa laughed.
“You're marrying the woman of your dreams. What could possibly go wrong?””
Marcus smiled.
“Nothing, hopefully.””
She kissed his cheek.
“After today, we're finally a real family.””
He glanced toward the garden.
“Where's Ava?””
“With the wedding coordinator, I think.””
“I haven't seen her in a while.””
“Marcus, she's six. Children wander.””
“She's supposed to be handing out flower petals.””
Vanessa sighed.
“Can we have one afternoon without worrying about Claire?””
Marcus frowned.
“I'm worrying about Ava.””
“Of course. You're a wonderful father.””
She straightened his boutonniere.
Then she looked over his shoulder.
Her expression changed.
Marcus followed her gaze.
Claire stood near the glass doors.
She wore a simple pale-blue dress and held a small brown paper bag.
She hadn't been invited.
That morning, she had unexpectedly arrived to drop off Ava's favorite stuffed rabbit and a birthday gift Marcus had forgotten at her house.
Their exchange had been brief.
Claire had looked tired.
She had also seemed unusually anxious.
Before leaving, she had taken Marcus's hand.
“Can I speak to you for a minute?””
He had glanced toward the wedding preparations.
“Claire, not today.””
“It's important.””
“Whatever it is, we can discuss it tomorrow.””
She had looked past him toward Vanessa.
Then she had lowered her voice.
“Please don't leave Ava alone with her.””
Marcus had immediately stiffened.
“Don't start this again.””
“I'm not starting anything.””
“Claire, we're divorced. You don't have to approve of my marriage.””
“That's not what I'm asking.””
He had pulled his hand away.
“Please leave.””
Claire had stared at him for several seconds.
Then she had nodded.
“Just remember I tried to warn you.””
Now she was standing near the glass doors.
And suddenly, she was gone.
Marcus looked around.
“Where did Claire go?””
Vanessa adjusted her veil.
“I don't know.””
“Did she leave?””
“Probably.””
“Did you speak to her?””
“Marcus.””
Her voice became unusually sharp.
“Today is our wedding. Stop looking for your ex-wife.””
He stared at her.
Then the officiant stepped forward.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if everyone could please take their seats.””
The wedding music began.
Marcus took Vanessa's hands.
But something felt wrong.
He couldn't explain it.
He looked toward the pool.
The water was perfectly still.
A few white rose petals drifted across the surface.
Then the scream came.
“DADDY!””
Now Marcus was running.
He reached the pool, kicked off his shoes, and dove into the water without thinking.
The cold struck his chest.
His expensive wedding shirt clung to his body as he opened his eyes beneath the surface.
Blue.
White tiles.
Sunlight.
Then something pale moved near the bottom.
A woman's hand.
Marcus kicked downward.
“Claire!””
His lungs began burning.
He reached her shoulder.
Her pale-blue dress floated around her like a cloud.
Her hair covered part of her face.
She wasn't moving.
Marcus grabbed her beneath the arms and tried to pull her upward.
Nothing happened.
Something was holding her ankle.
He looked down.
A thick silver chain was wrapped around her right leg.
The other end was attached to a heavy metal weight lying against the pool floor.
His heart hammered.
This wasn't an accident.
Someone had deliberately tied her down.
He grabbed the chain and pulled.
It wouldn't move.
He pulled harder.
Still nothing.
Then he noticed something beside Claire's hand.
A black smartphone.
Its screen was illuminated.
A message was visible.
IF HE FINDS OUT WHAT YOU DID, WE BOTH GO TO PRISON.
Marcus stared at the words.
He didn't understand.
Then the phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
THE WEDDING IS STARTING. MAKE SURE SHE NEVER COMES BACK UP.
Marcus felt the blood drain from his face.
He looked toward the surface.
Through the rippling water, he could see figures gathering around the pool.
One of them was wearing an ivory wedding dress.
Vanessa.
And she was holding something in her hand.
A second phone.
Marcus reached for the chain again.
His lungs were close to bursting.
He searched the metal weight and found a small locking mechanism.
His fingers slipped.
He tried again.
The mechanism finally shifted.
The chain loosened.
Marcus pulled Claire upward.
Her body was frighteningly limp.
He kicked with everything he had left.
They broke the surface.
“HELP!””
Two male guests jumped into the pool.
One grabbed Claire while Marcus struggled to keep her head above water.
“Get her out!”” Marcus shouted.
They dragged her toward the stone steps.
Ava was screaming.
“Mommy! Mommy!””
Marcus climbed out, coughing violently.
He dropped beside Claire.
Her lips were blue.
A wedding guest who identified himself as a nurse immediately began CPR.
“Call 911!”” she shouted.
Someone already had a phone to their ear.
“She's not breathing!””
Marcus grabbed Claire's hand.
“Come on. Come on, Claire.””
Ava knelt beside him, crying so hard she could barely speak.
“Daddy, please don't let Mommy die.””
Marcus pressed Claire's cold fingers against his forehead.
“Stay with us. You hear me? Stay with us.””
The nurse continued chest compressions.
Then Claire coughed.
Water spilled from her mouth.
She gasped.
Ava screamed with relief.
“Mommy!””
Marcus nearly collapsed.
But Claire's eyes opened only briefly.
She looked directly at him.
Her lips moved.
“Marcus…”
“I'm here.””
She swallowed painfully.
“Don't…”
“What?””
“Don't trust…”
Her eyes shifted toward the terrace.
Toward Vanessa.
Then Claire whispered two words.
“Your bride.””
Her eyes closed again.
The ambulance sirens were getting closer.
Marcus slowly lifted his head.
Vanessa was standing near the floral arch.
Her wedding dress was perfectly clean.
Her bouquet was still in her hand.
And beside her stood a man Marcus had never seen before.
The man was holding a small black bag.
When he noticed Marcus looking, he immediately turned toward the exit.
Marcus recognized the expression on his face.
It wasn't concern.
May you like
It was panic.
And Marcus knew that whoever that man was, he had something to do with what had happened beneath the water.
