Chapter 9 - The Second Phone
We found Peter in the upstairs study.
He was standing beside an open desk drawer with a black phone in his hand.
He froze when I walked in.
Lauren came in behind me.
“Give it to me,” I said.
Peter swallowed. “Daniel—”
“The phone.”
He looked at Lauren.
That was all I needed.
I crossed the room and held out my hand.
After a long second, he gave it to me.
No passcode.
The message thread at the top was with Lauren.
Hundreds of messages.
I read three.
That was enough.
Lauren: Once we’re married, he can’t undo everything easily.
Peter: You’re underestimating him.
Lauren: I’m not. I’m counting on him trusting me.
Then another, from two weeks earlier.
Peter: What about your mother?
Lauren: She gets the Charleston house. We take the cash and leave when the trust changes.
I looked up.
My best man stared at the floor.
“You knew?” I asked.
He rubbed both hands over his face. “Not at first.”
“How long?”
“Four months.”
I hit the desk with my palm, not him.
The sound cracked through the room.
“You stood next to me today.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“When? After the honeymoon?”
“No.”
Lauren stepped forward. “Peter, stop talking.”
He looked at her. “You said nobody would get hurt.”
My laugh sounded ugly. “My mother is downstairs with mud on her dress.”
Peter looked sick.
I scrolled farther.
There were hotel photos. Transfer confirmations. A draft email to me that had never been sent.
Then I found a voice memo.
Dated yesterday.
I tapped play.
Lauren’s voice filled the study.
“If Eleanor causes a scene at the wedding, we use it. Tell Daniel she’s unstable. He already thinks she’s been confused lately.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
Mom had forgotten two appointments that month.
Because someone had canceled them.
Someone with access to our shared calendar.
I looked at Lauren.
“You made me think my mother was sick.”
Peter whispered, “Daniel, there’s something else.”
Lauren spun toward him.
“Don’t.”
He met my eyes.
Aaron handed me Peter’s phone but kept standing beside me. We had known each other since high school, and I could see the question in his face: Do you want me to stay?
I nodded once.
It was a small thing, but I suddenly understood how important ordinary loyalty was. Aaron did not give me advice. He did not tell me what to feel. He simply stayed where I could see him.
Lauren noticed. "You’re turning everyone against me."
"I haven’t asked anyone to choose a side."
"You don’t have to. Your last name chooses for them."
I held up the phone. "Then explain this without using my family, my money, or my last name. Just explain your own words."
Her mouth opened, but no explanation came.
May you like
That was when I stopped hoping there was one.
“She changed your mother’s medication.”
