Chapter 15 - The Warning No One Could Take Back

I sent the threat to Detective Price. She advised me not to attend the wedding and arranged to document the message as part of her investigation. I didn't argue. For the first time that week, I understood that staying away wasn't cowardice. It was refusing to let my family decide where I would be hurt next.

Theo visited my hotel the following morning. He wore jeans instead of the tailored suit he'd bought for Sunday and held a small dark velvet ring box. His eyes looked older than they had at Christmas.

"The pawn shop confirmed the original ring was sold," he said. "I can try to recover it through the proper process, but it isn't there now."

He opened the box. The imitation diamond caught the light without any warmth. His grandmother had raised him during his parents' divorce. He had described her ring as the one good thing carried intact through three generations of his family.

"I kept thinking if I asked the right question, Sloane would tell me the truth," he said.

"Sometimes people give you their answer by refusing," I told him.

Theo said he had spoken with an attorney about the financial records and his responsibilities. He had also asked the venue to return everything belonging to his family. Frances had refused to release the guest list, claiming contractual obligations. I showed him the threat but not Talia's private details.

He read it once and shut his eyes. "You shouldn't have been asked to survive this just to prove what happened."

That sentence did something no apology from my parents had managed. It made room for how frightened I'd been.

Before leaving, Theo said he would not marry Sloane. He had not yet told her. "I want witnesses when I do," he said, "because every private conversation gets turned into a different story."

I wanted him safe. I also understood why he needed to say it himself.

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Minutes after he left, Talia called. She'd found the original unedited security clip through a coworker who had preserved a lawful copy for investigators. It began before I reached the stairs.

"Merritt," she said, her voice shaking, "the camera has audio from the corridor. Your sister didn't just push you. She told your mother what she was about to do."