Chapter 5: The Guest Who Wasn't on the List
"Who is the successor guardian?"" I asked.
Miriam's answer came quietly.
"Your brother, Ethan.""
I stared at the phone.
For a moment, I couldn't remember how to breathe.
Ethan Mitchell was my older brother. He lived outside Charlotte, worked in commercial real estate, and had barely spoken to me since our father's funeral eight years earlier.
We weren't enemies.
But we weren't close, either.
After our father died, we had argued over the sale of the family business. Ethan believed I'd been given an unfair share of the proceeds. I believed he'd spent years trying to control decisions that weren't his to make.
Eventually, we stopped calling.
He'd sent flowers when Rachel died.
He'd attended the funeral.
And he'd accepted my wedding invitation.
But he hadn't been on the guest list when Simone and I finalized the seating chart.
I'd assumed he had decided not to come.
"That's impossible," I said.
Miriam's voice remained calm.
"Rachel chose him because he was the only relative she believed would put Ava's interests ahead of the money.""
I laughed once, without humor.
"You don't know my brother.""
"I knew your wife. She was very careful about that decision.""
"Why didn't she tell me?""
"She said she wanted you to reconcile with him on your own terms. She didn't want the trust to become another reason for the two of you to fight.""
I rubbed my forehead.
"So Ethan could become Ava's guardian if something happened to me?""
"Under specific circumstances, yes. But that doesn't mean he has any right to take her now. You are her living parent, and nothing you've told me suggests that your parental rights have been lawfully changed.""
"Then why was Simone trying to arrange guardianship?""
"That's what we need to determine.""
I looked toward Officer Bennett.
She had written Ethan's name in her notebook.
"Do you know whether your brother attended the wedding?"" she asked.
"I don't know.""
"Was he invited?""
"Yes.""
"Then we should establish where he is.""
I called Marcus.
He answered immediately.
"Caleb? How's Ava?""
"She's safe. I need you to check the guest list. Did Ethan show up?""
There was a pause.
"Your brother?""
"Yes.""
"I saw him this morning.""
My chest tightened.
"Where?""
"Near the lobby. He was talking to Simone's mother. I thought you knew he was here.""
I gripped the edge of the table.
"What was he doing?""
"Couldn't tell you. They were standing beside the reception desk. When I walked over, they stopped talking.""
"Did you see him after that?""
"No.""
I thanked Marcus and ended the call.
Officer Bennett stood.
"We need to return to the venue.""
I nodded.
My mother called before we could leave.
"Caleb, sweetheart, Ava's asking for you.""
"I'm on my way.""
"She's all right, but she keeps asking whether the wedding is still happening.""
I closed my eyes.
"Tell her the wedding isn't happening.""
"She already knows that. She's asking whether you and Simone are still going to be together.""
I couldn't answer immediately.
My mother waited.
Finally, I said, "Tell her I love her more than anything. I'll explain everything when I get there.""
"I will.""
She paused.
"And Caleb?""
"Yes?""
"Don't let what happened today make you doubt yourself. You did the right thing.""
I swallowed.
"I should have seen it sooner.""
"Maybe. But you saw it when it mattered.""
When I returned to the venue, the ceremony hall had emptied.
White rose petals lay scattered across the aisle. The pianist had closed the keyboard. A half-finished glass of champagne sat on the registration table beside a guest's abandoned program.
The wedding I'd spent a year imagining had dissolved into a crime scene.
Marcus met me near the entrance.
"Police found Daniel's car.""
"Where?""
"At the service entrance. He wasn't inside it.""
Officer Bennett approached from the corridor.
"We located a man matching Daniel Price's description near the loading area. He was carrying a briefcase and attempting to leave the property.""
"Did you arrest him?""
"We're questioning him. He claims he was there to deliver legal documents to Ms. Brooks.""
"What documents?""
"He hasn't provided a satisfactory explanation yet.""
I glanced toward the bridal room.
"Where's Simone?""
"She's being interviewed separately.""
I nodded.
Then I noticed a man standing near the reception desk.
Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark suit.
A familiar profile.
Ethan.
He was speaking to a woman in a cream-colored dress. When he saw me, he ended the conversation and walked toward us.
"Caleb.""
I stared at him.
"What are you doing here?""
He glanced at the officers.
"That's a complicated question.""
"Try me.""
He lowered his voice.
"I came because Rachel asked me to.""
The words struck like a physical blow.
"Rachel?""
"Before she died, she called me. We hadn't spoken in months, but she asked me to come to Atlanta and meet her.""
I stared at him.
"When?""
"Three weeks before she passed.""
My heart hammered.
The same period Rachel had mentioned in her letter.
"What did she tell you?""
Ethan looked at the empty ceremony hall.
"That someone was trying to take control of Ava's inheritance. She said she needed me to be prepared to protect her if anything happened.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because she made me promise not to tell you unless the situation became dangerous.""
I shook my head.
"You've had three years to tell me.""
"I know.""
"And you showed up at my wedding without calling?""
"I called you twice last week. You didn't answer.""
I frowned.
"I never got your calls.""
Ethan pulled out his phone.
"Then someone has been interfering with more than one person's communication.""
He showed me his call log.
Two missed calls to my number.
Both made four days earlier.
Then he opened a message thread.
A text sent from my number appeared on the screen.
*Don't come to the wedding. Ava doesn't want you there.*
I stared at the words.
"I never sent that.""
"I know that now.""
"Who sent it?""
Ethan looked toward the bridal room.
"I think you already know.""
I felt sick.
Simone hadn't just been planning something behind my back.
She had been separating me from the people who might have helped me.
My brother.
My mother's friends.
Anyone who could have asked questions.
"Why didn't you come anyway?"" I asked.
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Because I thought you wanted nothing to do with me. And because Rachel's last request was that I not make things worse unless I had evidence.""
He looked at the officers.
"Now I have evidence.""
He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a manila envelope.
"I brought this for you.""
I didn't take it.
"What's in it?""
"Copies of the trust documents Rachel gave me. A letter from her attorney. And a photograph.""
My stomach tightened.
"Another photograph?""
He nodded.
"This one was taken outside the hospital on the night Rachel died.""
He opened the envelope.
The photograph showed a hospital entrance at night. Rachel was standing beside a dark sedan, wearing the blue coat.
A man stood near the driver's door.
Daniel Price.
Behind them, partly obscured by the reflection in the glass, was a second person.
A woman.
I leaned closer.
The image was grainy, but I could make out the shape of her face.
Simone.
She had been there.
Three years before I met her.
Before the engagement.
Before the wedding.
Before she'd ever promised to love my daughter.
I stared at Ethan.
"How did you get this?""
"Rachel sent it to me the day before she died. She told me not to show you unless someone tried to interfere with Ava's trust.""
I could barely hear him.
"Why would Simone be at the hospital?""
Ethan looked toward the corridor.
"Because Rachel knew her.""
The world seemed to narrow around me.
"What?""
"Rachel told me Simone had approached her months earlier. She claimed she was helping Daniel investigate irregularities in the trust. Rachel believed her at first.""
I shook my head.
"That's impossible. Simone and I met at a charity event eighteen months ago.""
"That's what you believe.""
I looked down at the photograph again.
The date printed in the corner was three years old.
Rachel had been alive.
Ava had been four.
And Simone had been standing beside Daniel Price outside the hospital.
"Why didn't Rachel tell me?"" I whispered.
Ethan's face softened.
"She was afraid you'd confront them before she could prove what they were doing. She said Daniel had friends in places where paperwork could disappear and stories could be rewritten.""
I remembered the forged signature.
The messages.
The photograph of Rachel at the park.
The locked bridal-room door.
"Did Rachel know she was going to die?""
Ethan shook his head.
"She didn't know. But she was frightened.""
I looked at the photograph again.
"What happened that night?""
"I don't know everything. Rachel was admitted after her symptoms worsened. She told me she had been trying to meet Miriam to deliver the original trust documents. Daniel found out.""
My throat tightened.
"Are you saying he caused her death?""
"No. I'm saying Rachel believed he was trying to silence her. I won't accuse anyone of murder without proof.""
That answer should have reassured me.
Instead, it made the room feel colder.
Because Ethan wasn't speculating.
He was choosing his words carefully.
Officer Bennett stepped closer.
"Mr. Mitchell, I need to see that photograph.""
Ethan handed it to her.
She examined it, then looked at the date.
"Did you provide this to investigators when Rachel died?""
"No," Ethan said.
"She asked me to keep it until I could prove someone was targeting Ava.""
Officer Bennett's expression hardened.
"We'll need a formal statement.""
"Of course.""
I looked toward the reception desk.
The woman in the cream-colored dress was gone.
In her place stood a venue employee holding a small black handbag.
"Mr. Mitchell?""
I turned.
"Yes?""
"This was left in the bridal suite. We were asked to give it to Ms. Brooks, but the police said not to disturb anything.""
She held out the bag.
I recognized it immediately.
Simone's handbag.
Officer Bennett took it.
"We'll examine it.""
Something inside the bag vibrated.
A phone.
Not Simone's main phone.
A second phone.
Officer Bennett removed it carefully and placed it on the table. The screen was already lit.
A message had appeared.
*UNKNOWN: Daniel has been detained. The wedding failed. Proceed with Plan B.*
A second message followed.
*The brother is there. Do not let him leave with the girl.*
My blood ran cold.
I turned toward the entrance.
My mother and Ava were supposed to be waiting in the car.
"Ethan," I said, "where's my mother?""
He looked at me.
"She said she was taking Ava home.""
I pulled out my phone and called her.
No answer.
I called again.
Nothing.
Then a third time.
The call went straight to voicemail.
I started running.
Marcus followed.
Ethan was right behind us.
Officer Bennett shouted for backup as we pushed through the venue doors and into the parking lot.
My mother's car was still there.
The rear door stood open.
Ava's flower basket lay on the pavement.
And beside it was a small pink shoe.
I stopped so abruptly that Ethan nearly collided with me.
My mother was nowhere in sight.
Neither was Ava.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
*You were warned, Caleb. Bring the original trust documents to the old courthouse by six o'clock, or you'll never see your daughter again.*
Beneath it was a photograph.
Ava sat in the back seat of a car, her cheeks wet and her hands gripping her flower basket.
Beside her was my mother.
She was conscious.
But a man's hand rested on the driver's seat, and in the reflection of the window, I could see the edge of a face.
I recognized the scar across the man's cheek.
Daniel Price had been detained by the police.
Which meant the man holding my daughter wasn't Daniel.
May you like
And whoever he was, he knew exactly how to use the one thing I would sacrifice everything to protect.
My little girl.
