Chapter 10 - Emily's Unfinished Wedding
The ballroom seemed colder despite the chandeliers.
Daniel sat for the first time all evening.
“My sister wasn’t engaged.”
Celeste looked at him with something close to pity. “Not publicly.”
Margaret went rigid.
Daniel turned to her. “Mom?”
Margaret’s eyes closed.
That was answer enough.
Vanessa whispered, “You knew?”
Margaret spoke slowly. “I knew there was someone. Emily refused to tell me who.”
Celeste wiped her face. “His name was Aaron Vale. He worked at the foundation.”
Daniel frowned. “I remember him.”
“He and Emily planned to leave Chicago after the wedding. Small ceremony. No press. No family politics.”
Margaret’s voice broke. “Why would she hide it from me?”
“Because Aaron’s father had accused the Whitmore Foundation of burying financial misconduct. Your husband threatened to ruin his career.”
Margaret flinched at the mention of Daniel’s late father.
Daniel leaned forward. “What does any of this have to do with Vanessa’s mother?”
Celeste looked toward the ledger page.
“Renee Caldwell was a junior accountant for one of the foundation’s contractors.”
Vanessa laughed in disbelief. “My mother never told me that.”
“She was the one who found the irregular payments Aaron was investigating.”
Margaret’s face hardened. “And the seventy-five thousand dollars?”
“I don’t know.”
Brooke muttered, “Convenient again.”
Celeste ignored her.
Vanessa’s phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A text appeared.
DON’T TRUST THE LEDGER.
A second message followed.
THE ORIGINAL IS IN THE DRESS.
Vanessa stared at the screen.
Daniel saw her expression. “What is it?”
She showed him.
His eyes moved to the gold embroidery.
“The original what?”
Before Vanessa could answer, a third message arrived.
CHECK THE LEFT CRANE BEFORE THEY TAKE IT FROM YOU.
Vanessa slowly looked down at the broken golden feather stitched near her waist.
May you like
There was a tiny seam beneath it.
A seam she had never noticed before.
