Chapter 5 - The Man in the Mirror
Mateo called the venue manager before anyone else could move.
"Find the man in this photo."
The manager enlarged the image, studied it, and shook his head. "He's not on staff."
"Guest list?"
"I'll check."
Ethan took out his phone and searched the company name. Family Placement Services turned out not to be an adoption agency or government office. It was a private mediation and custody consulting firm in the next county.
I felt my hands go numb.
"Why would your mother be talking to a custody consultant at my sister's wedding?"
"I don't know," Ethan said.
But the look on his face told me he was remembering something.
"What?"
He hesitated.
"Two months ago, Mom asked me whether Lily's adoption could ever be reversed."
I stared at him.
"You never told me that."
"Because I shut it down. I thought it was just another ugly comment."
"What did she say?"
Ethan rubbed a hand over his face. "She said if our marriage ever failed, I shouldn't be financially responsible for a child who wasn't biologically mine. I told her Lily is my daughter no matter what happens between us. She called me emotional and changed the subject."
I looked across the ballroom at Lily.
She had climbed into Claire's lap and was touching the beadwork on her wedding dress. Claire was whispering something that made her smile.
The sight steadied me.
"She doesn't get near her again," I said.
"She won't."
The venue manager returned with a tablet. "The man isn't on the guest list, but security footage shows he entered during vendor setup. He told the front desk he was meeting Mrs. Whitmore."
"Can we see the footage?" Mateo asked.
"Yes, but I also called local police. If he misrepresented himself to access a private event, we need to document it properly."
That was when the glass doors rattled.
Diane had stopped pleading.
Now she was trying to force her way back inside.
Two guards blocked her. She shouted through the glass, "Ethan! We need to talk before you make a mistake!"
Ethan walked toward the doors but did not open them.
Lily watched from across the room.
I moved so I was between her and Diane's line of sight.
"What do you want?" Ethan called through the glass.
Diane pressed both palms against it. "You don't understand what Nora is doing to this family."
"You hit my daughter."
"She is not—"
Ethan's voice cracked like a whip. "Finish that sentence and I swear it will be the last thing you ever say to me."
Diane froze.
For the first time all night, she looked uncertain.
Then she pointed at me.
"Ask your wife what happens if you die. Ask her who gets your share of the Whitmore trust."
The ballroom went silent again.
I had no idea what she was talking about.
Ethan did.
He turned toward me slowly.
"Nora," he said, "there's something about the adoption paperwork I never explained because I didn't think it mattered."
I stared at him.
Outside, Diane smiled.
May you like
Not because she was winning.
Because she had finally revealed what this had really been about.
