Chapter 5 - The Man in the Hallway

Dad refused an ambulance until he told us what happened.

"Lorraine asked me to step away from the reception," he said. "Said there was a surprise for you and Marcus that needed my signature."

We sat in a private lounge off the ballroom. Tasha locked the door. A hotel medic checked Dad's blood pressure while I held his hand.

Marcus stood across the room like an unwelcome witness at his own trial.

"Who was with her?" I asked.

Dad looked at him.

"Your attorney."

Marcus frowned. "Gavin?"

"Gavin Price."

My stomach sank.

Gavin had drafted our prenup.

He had also assured me, twice, that nothing in our marriage could touch my mother's trust.

Dad continued. "They said the trust needed to guarantee a temporary note. I said no. Gavin kept pushing. Lorraine said the wedding was already paid for, guests were here, families were joined. She told me refusing would humiliate everyone."

"Then what?"

"I stood up to leave. Gavin blocked the door."

Marcus swore quietly.

Dad's eyes hardened. "And your mother told him to take my phone."

"She would never—"

"Do not tell me what your mother would never do. I was there."

Marcus flinched.

The medic asked Dad if he'd been struck.

"No. Just shoved into that storage room when security walked past. They panicked."

I looked at Marcus.

"Call your mother."

He did.

Voicemail.

Again.

Nothing.

Tasha opened the hotel's internal event app on her phone. "Lorraine's place card is gone. Her purse too."

Dad tried to stand.

"She's leaving."

I pressed him back down. "You stay here."

Marcus reached for me. "Danielle, don't go after her alone."

"I'm not alone."

Tasha stepped beside me.

Marcus's jaw tightened. "This is my family."

I met his eyes.

"That's exactly why you're not the person I trust right now."

We left through the service corridor.

At the far end, a man in a gray suit stepped out from the elevator.

Gavin Price.

He saw me.

Stopped.

Turned around.

And ran.

"Gavin!"

Tasha kicked off her heels before I could blink.

We chased him past the hotel kitchen, through a loading corridor, and into the underground garage.

He reached a black sedan.

The driver's door opened from inside.

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Lorraine Hale looked directly at me.

Then she shouted, "Drive!"