Chapter 4 - The Photo List
I read the sentence again until the words blurred.
She has permission to remove Lily from the event.
"No," I said.
Claire touched my arm. "Nora?"
"No one has permission to take Lily anywhere. Not Diane. Not anyone."
Ethan was already calling security.
Within minutes, the venue manager locked the staff exit and told every guard that Diane Whitmore was not to be allowed back inside for any reason. Julia forwarded the fake emails to me and to Claire. Mateo asked the photographer and videographer to preserve all footage from the day.
I finally went to Lily.
Carmen moved aside so I could kneel next to her chair.
"How's your cheek?"
"It stings."
"I know. I'm sorry."
She looked at the cupcake on her plate. "Am I in trouble?"
That broke me.
"No, sweetheart. You are not in trouble. You did nothing wrong."
"I took it before Aunt Claire cut the cake."
Marcus, the waiter, immediately shook his head. "Actually, I gave it to you. Remember?"
Lily nodded.
He smiled gently. "Then if anybody broke a rule, it was me. And I checked with the pastry chef first. You're good."
She considered this, then took another bite.
Across the room, the photographer, Jenna, waved us over.
"I pulled up the family shot list," she said. "You should see this."
On her tablet was the original list Claire had approved. It included Lily in six groups: bride's family, sisters, nieces and nephews, flower girl, immediate family, and one photo of Claire with Lily alone.
Then Jenna showed us a printed list someone had handed her that morning.
Lily's name had been crossed out in red ink.
Next to it were the words: Not Whitmore blood. Keep formal.
Ethan went very still.
"Who gave you this?"
"Diane. She said she was helping coordinate family groups because Claire was busy. I told her I had my official list already. She said the bride had approved changes."
Claire laughed in disbelief. "I didn't approve a damn thing."
Jenna scrolled through several candid photos.
There was Diane, standing behind us during pre-ceremony pictures.
There was Diane whispering to an assistant.
There was Diane pointing toward Lily.
Then Jenna stopped on one image.
It had been taken accidentally during a lens test near the bridal suite hallway.
Diane stood half hidden beside the service door, speaking to a woman I recognized as one of the temporary event attendants.
In Diane's hand was a folded piece of paper.
"Can you zoom in?" I asked.
Jenna did.
The paper showed my forged signature.
We had her.
But Ethan wasn't looking at the paper.
He was staring at something else in the photo.
"Who's that?" he asked.
In the corner of the image, reflected in a mirror, was a man in a dark suit handing Diane a second envelope.
Claire frowned. "I've never seen him before."
Mateo leaned closer.
"I have," he said.
We all looked at him.
"He was at the rehearsal dinner," Mateo said. "Diane introduced him as a family attorney."
Ethan's face hardened.
"My family's attorney is sixty-eight years old and uses a cane. That's not him."
Jenna zoomed in one more time.
The man's badge was turned sideways, but part of the print was visible.
Three words.
May you like
Family Placement Services.
And suddenly the forged email about "removing" Lily sounded much more dangerous.
