Chapter 3: My Sister's Name on the Screen
For several seconds, neither Nathan nor I moved.
Outside the bridal suite, Lauren knocked again.
"Emily, please. I know you're in there.""
I stared at the door.
My sister had been my closest friend for most of our lives. When our father died, she had slept beside me for weeks because neither of us could bear the silence of the house. When I moved to Nashville for work, she called every Sunday.
And now she was standing outside my wedding suite, asking me to hide evidence of what Isabella had done.
Nathan held up one finger, asking me to wait.
He opened the door.
Lauren stood in the hallway, wearing a champagne-colored bridesmaid dress. Her mascara had smudged beneath her eyes, but her hair remained perfectly styled.
She looked past Nathan and immediately fixed her gaze on the torn gown.
"Oh, Emily," she whispered.
"It looks even worse than I thought.""
I didn't move.
"How did you know it was torn?""
Her mouth opened, then closed.
"Everyone's talking about it.""
"Everyone downstairs is talking about it," I replied.
"But you were here before anyone told you about the photographs.""
Lauren glanced at Nathan.
"Can I speak to my sister alone?""
"No," I said.
The word surprised all three of us.
I stood up, gathering the damaged train in my hands.
"You can speak to both of us. What did Mom promise you she wouldn't tell me?""
Lauren's eyes filled with tears.
"Emily, this isn't how it looks.""
"Then tell me how it looks.""
She twisted the small gold bracelet around her wrist.
"Isabella was upset about the dress. She thought you deliberately excluded her from the wedding planning, and she wanted to teach you a lesson.""
"A lesson?"" I repeated.
Lauren winced.
"I know it sounds terrible.""
"She ripped my dress apart in front of two hundred people.""
"I know!""
"Then why are you defending her?""
Lauren looked toward the hallway, checking whether anyone could hear us.
"Because she said she'd help me.""
The words landed between us.
Nathan crossed his arms.
"Help you with what?""
Lauren wiped her cheeks.
"Money.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What money?""
She sat down on the edge of the sofa without waiting for permission.
"I owe someone. It's complicated.""
"How much?"" I asked.
She stared at her hands.
"Twenty-eight thousand dollars.""
I gripped the back of a chair.
Twenty-eight thousand dollars was not a small loan or a few overdue bills. It was enough money to change someone's life.
"How did you get into that much debt?""
Lauren's voice dropped.
"Credit cards. A personal loan. Some bad decisions.""
"And Isabella offered to pay it?""
"She said she could arrange something if I helped her.""
Nathan leaned forward.
"Help her do what?""
Lauren looked at me.
"She wanted to embarrass you at the reception. She said you needed to understand that Nathan's family had expectations, and you couldn't keep acting as if your mother was the only person who mattered.""
My fingers went numb.
"What exactly did you do?""
"Nothing to the dress," Lauren said quickly.
"I swear.""
"Then why did she say you were involved?""
Lauren covered her face.
"Because I knew what she was planning.""
The room went silent.
I could hear the distant music from the ballroom, a cheerful saxophone melody that seemed to belong to another universe.
"You knew?"" I whispered.
Lauren nodded.
"She told me she would make the train look damaged. She said she would tug it a little, make a fuss, and then you'd get upset. I didn't think she'd actually rip it.""
Nathan stared at her.
"You knew my mother was going to sabotage my wife's wedding dress, and you said nothing?""
"I needed the money!""
"So you let her hurt Emily?""
"I didn't think she'd go that far!""
I looked at my sister, searching for the frightened little girl I remembered. The one who used to crawl into my bed after thunderstorms. The one who had held my hand at our father's funeral.
All I could see was a woman who had weighed my happiness against her debt and decided it was negotiable.
I sat down slowly.
"Did you send Isabella those messages?""
Lauren shook her head.
"No. She messaged me first.""
Nathan took out his phone.
"Then explain this.""
He showed her the message from the unsaved number.
Lauren went completely still.
For a moment, she seemed unable to breathe.
Then she whispered, "Where did you get that?""
"From my mother's phone," Nathan replied.
"The number isn't saved, but the conversation is.""
Lauren reached for the phone.
Nathan pulled it away.
"Don't.""
She lowered her hand.
I looked between them.
"Lauren, what does that message mean?""
She began crying harder.
"Isabella told me that if the wedding went badly, Nathan might postpone the announcement.""
"What announcement?"" Nathan asked.
Lauren shook her head.
"She didn't tell me everything.""
"You're going to tell us what you know," he said.
"Right now.""
Lauren took a trembling breath.
"She said your mother-in-law wanted to prove that you were marrying Nathan for his family's money. She said the dress incident would make you look unstable, and then everyone would understand why you shouldn't have access to the family business.""
I blinked.
"What does the family business have to do with me?""
Nathan's expression darkened.
"My father left me a controlling share of Whitmore Hospitality when he died. Mom manages the company until I take over officially.""
I knew Nathan's family owned hotels across Tennessee and Kentucky. I had never asked about the details because money had never been the reason I loved him.
"What would Isabella gain by making me look bad?"" I asked.
Nathan looked away.
"She believes you could influence my decisions once we were married.""
Lauren nodded miserably.
"She said you'd convince Nathan to remove her from the company.""
I stared at my husband.
"Would you?""
Nathan met my eyes.
"If she were abusing her position, yes.""
A long silence followed.
Then he opened his phone again and scrolled to the bottom of the conversation.
"There is one more message.""
He read it aloud.
"After the reception, make sure Emily is alone before you send the final photograph. She must believe Nathan's family will never accept her.""
I felt a chill travel down my spine.
"Final photograph?"" I asked.
Nathan enlarged the attachment beneath the message.
It was a picture of me in the bridal suite, taken through the partially open doorway while my mother fastened the buttons on my gown that morning.
I had never noticed anyone taking it.
Lauren began shaking her head.
"That wasn't me. I didn't take that picture.""
Nathan looked at her.
"Then who did?""
She opened her mouth, but no words came.
Suddenly, someone appeared in the doorway behind her.
It was Sarah, our photographer.
She held her camera against her chest and looked at the three of us with a pale face.
"Emily," she said, "there's something I need to tell you about that photograph.""
I stood.
"What?""
Sarah glanced at Lauren, then back at me.
"That picture wasn't taken from the hallway. I recognize the angle. Whoever took it was standing inside the bridal suite.""
My skin prickled.
"But the only people in the room were my mother and me.""
Sarah swallowed.
"Not according to the timestamp. At that exact moment, someone else entered the room.""
She turned her camera toward us and opened another image.
The photograph showed the bridal suite door reflected in the tall mirror behind my mother.
A figure stood just inside the doorway.
The face was partially obscured, but the person wore a distinctive silver watch and a dark suit.
Nathan leaned closer to the screen.
Then he stepped backward as though someone had struck him.
"That's impossible," he whispered.
I grabbed his arm.
"Who is it?""
He looked at me, his face suddenly drained of color.
"It's my father.""
His father had been dead for three years.
And beneath the photograph, Sarah had found a second image—one taken just seconds later.
This time, the figure was holding a phone pointed directly at me.
May you like
On the back of the phone was a small gold sticker bearing a name.
*Lauren.*
