Chapter 7: The Deputies at the Wedding
Michael didn’t answer.
The taller deputy looked around the hallway.
“Michael Reeves?””
Noah pointed.
“That’s him.””
Michael shot him a murderous look.
Then he forced a smile.
“Deputy, whatever this is, I’m sure we can handle it somewhere else.””
The deputy didn’t smile back.
“I need to speak with you outside.””
Emily stepped forward.
“Why?””
“Ma’am, are you Emily Parker?””
“Not yet.””
Her voice cracked.
“I’m Emily Carter.””
The deputy glanced at the wedding dress and softened slightly.
“I understand this is bad timing.””
Michael laughed.
“Bad timing? My daughter is getting married.””
The second deputy spoke.
“That’s why we’re asking you to come quietly.””
Michael’s smile disappeared.
I looked at Sarah.
She was gripping the back of a chair.
“What did he do?”” I asked.
The deputies exchanged a look.
The taller one answered carefully.
“We received a complaint involving a vehicle in the parking area.””
Michael frowned.
“My vehicle?””
“A black Mercedes SUV.””
“That’s mine.””
The deputy nodded.
“We need to discuss what was found inside it.””
Michael’s face changed.
Noah looked down at the folder in his hands.
“I got those papers from that SUV.””
The deputy immediately turned.
“You entered the vehicle?””
“The keys were with the valet. The florist needed it moved.””
“Did you remove anything besides those documents?””
“No.””
Michael stepped toward Noah.
“You idiot.””
The deputy moved between them.
“Sir.””
Michael stopped.
Emily stared at her biological father.
“What’s in the car?””
“Nothing.””
“Then why are you scared?””
“I’m not scared.””
“You look scared.””
“I’m angry.””
The coordinator appeared behind the deputies.
“Emily?””
Emily turned.
The poor woman looked as though she wanted to disappear.
“The guests are becoming concerned.””
Emily closed her eyes.
Noah moved beside her.
“We can postpone.””
She looked at him.
“What?””
“The ceremony.””
“Noah—”
“I don’t care about the schedule.””
He took her hands.
“I care about you.””
Her face crumpled.
For several seconds, nobody else mattered.
Then Emily whispered, “Everyone came.””
“They can wait.””
“The food—”
“Forget the food.””
“The money—”
Noah looked at me.
Then back at her.
“Forget the money.””
That sentence did something to me.
Noah wasn’t wealthy.
He worked hard.
He drove a six-year-old Honda.
He had spent months saving for Emily’s engagement ring.
Yet standing inside a wedding that might financially implode, he wasn’t thinking about deposits.
He was thinking about her.
That was the first decent thing I’d heard all afternoon.
The shorter deputy spoke into his radio.
Michael suddenly turned toward Sarah.
“Tell them.””
She stared at him.
“Tell them what?””
“You know.””
Her face tightened.
“No.””
“Sarah.””
“I said no.””
Michael stepped closer.
“You started this.””
Sarah laughed bitterly.
“I started this?””
“You called me.””
“Because Emily wanted you back in her life!””
“You told me James had money.””
My stomach dropped.
Sarah looked at me.
“James—”
Michael kept going.
“You told me about the investment account.””
Emily whispered, “Stop.””
“You told me he’d never notice sixty grand missing until after the wedding.””
Sarah slapped Michael.
The sound cracked through the hallway.
Everyone froze.
Michael slowly turned his head back.
The deputy stepped between them.
“Ma’am, move away.””
Sarah’s hand covered her mouth.
“I’m sorry.””
I barely heard her.
One sentence kept repeating in my head.
He’d never notice.
Twenty years together.
A house.
A marriage.
A child I had raised as mine.
And my wife had discussed how much money she could remove before I noticed.
I looked at Sarah.
“Was any of it real?””
She began crying.
“Don’t.””
“That’s a simple question.””
“I love you.””
“That wasn’t my question.””
“James.””
“Was the sixty thousand your idea?””
She shook her head.
“Michael said he needed help.””
“And you gave him access to our account.””
“I gave him the login once.””
“One time is enough.””
“I thought he was only checking whether the funds were available.””
Even Michael looked at her like that explanation was pathetic.
Emily wiped her face.
“Mom, why would you help him?””
Sarah looked at her daughter.
“Because I felt guilty.””
“About what?””
Sarah hesitated.
“Keeping him away.””
Michael laughed.
“Finally.””
Sarah spun toward him.
“Don’t pretend you were some innocent father. You missed visits before I ever met James. You drank. You disappeared for weeks.””
“I changed.””
“Eventually.””
“And you punished me forever.””
“I protected her!””
“You protected your new family.””
Emily shouted, “I was your family!””
Both of them stopped.
She stood there trembling.
“I was seven years old. Neither of you gets to use me as an excuse anymore.””
Sarah began sobbing.
Michael looked away.
Then the taller deputy’s radio crackled.
He listened.
His expression changed.
“Mr. Reeves, turn around.””
Michael stared at him.
“What?””
“Turn around and place your hands behind your back.””
Emily gasped.
Michael backed away.
“Am I under arrest?””
“At this time, yes.””
“For what?””
The deputy reached for his handcuffs.
“Possession of suspected stolen financial documents and identification materials.””
I frowned.
“Identification?””
Michael went pale.
The second deputy added, “We found multiple credit cards and identification documents in the vehicle that don’t appear to belong to Mr. Reeves.””
Michael’s eyes jumped toward Sarah.
She looked confused.
Genuinely confused.
The deputy continued.
“One driver’s license belongs to a woman named Lauren Reeves.””
Michael said quickly, “That’s my wife.””
“There are three others.””
Noah looked at me.
Emily whispered, “Three?””
The deputy handcuffed Michael.
Michael suddenly looked at Sarah.
“You need to call Lauren.””
Sarah stared at him.
“Why?””
“Call her.””
“Why?””
“Just do it!””
The deputy started walking him away.
Emily followed two steps.
“Dad!””
Michael stopped.
For one second, hope flashed across his face.
Then Emily asked the question that destroyed it.
“Did you ever come back because you missed me?””
Michael stared at her.
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
The deputies led him away.
Emily stood motionless.
I wanted to hold her.
But after everything that had happened, I didn’t know whether I had the right anymore.
Then she turned.
Not toward Sarah.
Toward me.
“James?””
“Yes?””
Her lower lip trembled.
“I think I made the biggest mistake of my life.””
Before I could answer, Sarah’s phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her expression changed.
“Who is it?”” I asked.
May you like
She slowly lifted her eyes.
“Lauren.””
