Chapter 3: The Man I Was About to Marry
I didn't go home after that phone call.
I drove straight to Nathan's architecture office.
The building stood on a busy street in downtown Nashville, all glass walls and polished concrete. I had visited dozens of times, but that afternoon it felt unfamiliar.
His assistant looked up when I entered.
“Madison! Congratulations on tomorrow!””
“Thank you. Is Nathan here?””
“He's in a meeting.””
“With whom?””
She hesitated.
“Your mother.””
I stared at her.
“My mother is here?””
The assistant nodded.
“They've been meeting for about forty minutes.””
I walked toward the conference room.
Through the glass, I could see Victoria sitting across from Nathan.
She had placed a leather folder on the table.
Nathan was holding a pen.
My mother was smiling.
That smile.
The same smile she wore whenever she had already decided something and expected everyone else to cooperate.
I opened the door.
Both of them looked up.
“Madison,” Mom said, sounding almost delighted.
“What a surprise.””
I looked at the folder.
“What are you doing here?””
Nathan stood.
“Sweetheart, I can explain.””
“Then explain.””
Victoria closed the folder.
“Your fiancé and I were discussing a business opportunity.””
“Without me?””
“It's complicated.””
I laughed.
“Everything seems to become complicated when I'm not allowed to know about it.””
Nathan glanced at my mother.
“Victoria, could you give us a minute?””
She didn't move.
Instead, she reached into her handbag and pulled out a small envelope.
“Before I leave, Madison, I think you should see this.””
She slid it across the table.
Inside was a photograph of me as a baby.
The same photograph Daniel had shown me.
But this one had writing on the back.
Caroline's daughter. Keep her away from the trust until the transfer is complete.
I looked at my mother.
“Who wrote this?””
She folded her arms.
“Your aunt was a confused old woman. She spent years inventing stories.””
“Did Caroline give birth to me?””
Victoria's jaw tightened.
Nathan looked down.
That was when I knew.
He already knew.
I turned toward him.
“Did you know?””
He rubbed his forehead.
“Madison, please sit down.””
“Did you know?””
“Yes.””
The word was barely audible.
My ears started ringing.
“How long?””
“Since last year.””
I stepped backward.
“Last year?””
Nathan came around the table.
“Your aunt contacted me. She wanted to make sure you were protected.””
“And you didn't tell me?””
“She asked me to wait until she had everything legally documented.””
“She died eight months ago!””
“I know.””
“You've known for eight months that my entire family was lying to me?””
He reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
“Don't.””
Victoria stood and picked up her handbag.
“Madison, this is exactly why we didn't tell you. You become emotional, and then you make decisions you regret.””
I looked at her.
“Is that why you stole my dress?””
Her expression hardened.
“I did not steal anything. Brittany borrowed it.””
“From my locked studio?””
“She was trying to help.””
“By taking a dress I spent eleven months making?””
Mom sighed.
“You always make everything about yourself.””
I stared at her for several seconds.
Then I turned toward Nathan.
“What was the business opportunity?””
He looked at the folder.
Victoria answered for him.
“Carter Bridal Holdings is acquiring the rights to a valuable collection of designs. Nathan's firm is helping with the development of the new showroom.””
I felt a cold wave move through me.
“Whose designs?””
No one answered.
I walked to the table and opened the folder.
The first page showed a collection of bridal gowns.
The designs were familiar.
Too familiar.
They were the patterns I had spent years studying in Aunt Eleanor's sketchbook.
The second page was a licensing agreement.
The third was a transfer document naming Carter Bridal Holdings as the exclusive owner of the designs.
And at the bottom was a line for the beneficiary's consent.
My name was already typed there.
Only the signature was missing.
I looked at Nathan.
“Were you going to ask me to sign this tomorrow?””
He shook his head.
“Not exactly.””
“Then what?””
Victoria stepped forward.
“Brittany was going to wear the gown during the ceremony. It would establish the collection's public launch. We would announce the company, and then you would sign the documents after the honeymoon.””
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“You planned to use my wedding as a business launch?””
Mom looked offended.
“Don't be dramatic. It would have been wonderful publicity.””
“And what would I get?””
“Security. A comfortable life. You wouldn't have to work so hard in that little shop anymore.””
I laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because I finally understood how she saw me.
Not as her daughter.
As an inconvenience standing between her and a fortune.
Nathan stepped closer.
“Madison, I was going to tell you.””
“When?””
He swallowed.
“After the wedding.””
I stared at him.
“You let me walk toward the altar without knowing any of this.””
“I love you.””
“Then why did you help them?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“My father invested in the development company. We were in financial trouble. Your mother offered a way out.””
I felt the floor disappear beneath me.
“So you were going to marry me and help my family steal my inheritance?””
“No. That's not what I wanted.””
“Then what did you want?””
He couldn't answer.
Victoria picked up her folder.
“Enough. We have a wedding tomorrow. This conversation is over.””
I moved toward the door.
She caught my arm.
“Madison, listen to me. You have no idea how much your aunt manipulated you. She filled your head with fantasies because she couldn't accept that you belonged to this family.””
I looked down at her hand.
Then I looked into her eyes.
“Let go.””
She released me.
I walked out without saying another word.
Outside, the air smelled of rain and gasoline.
I sat in my car for twenty minutes, staring at the steering wheel.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Brittany.
A photograph appeared.
She was standing in front of a full-length mirror, wearing my wedding gown.
The pearl train spread across the floor.
My veil rested over her hair.
Her caption read:
Some women are born to be brides. Others are born to watch.
A second message followed.
Mom says you'll understand once you see how beautiful I look tomorrow.
I didn't reply.
Instead, I called Elise, my cousin and my closest friend.
She answered immediately.
“Madison? What's wrong?””
“Can you come to the studio?””
“Of course. What's happened?””
I looked at Brittany's photograph again.
“I'm changing the wedding plan.””
An hour later, Elise arrived with two coffees and a laptop.
I showed her everything.
The security footage. The documents. The recording of my mother. Nathan's confession.
She watched without interrupting.
When the video ended, she covered her mouth.
“Madison, this is bigger than the dress.””
“I know.””
“Are you still marrying Nathan?””
I looked at the gold gown hanging behind me.
I had finished it three nights earlier.
It was the dress I had made after discovering the ivory gown had been moved from its original place.
I had never told anyone why I made it.
“No,” I said.
“But I'm still going to that wedding.””
Elise raised an eyebrow.
“Why?””
I opened Aunt Eleanor's jewelry case.
Inside was a tiny recording device, a second silver clasp, and a folded instruction card.
The card explained that the mechanism inside the ivory dress would release a digital file when activated.
But the file would only unlock if the dress was worn and the clasp was pressed.
I read the last line.
The evidence must be witnessed by those who benefited from the deception.
Elise looked at me.
“What does that mean?””
I opened the flash drive again and played the final video file.
It showed Aunt Eleanor sitting in her wheelchair, speaking directly into the camera.
“Madison, if you've reached this point, then Victoria has made her move. I am sorry, sweetheart.””
She paused, struggling to breathe.
“There's one more thing you need to know. Caroline didn't die in an accident. And the person who signed the final medical authorization was…”
The screen went black.
Elise leaned forward.
“Was who?””
I checked the file.
It had been deliberately cut off.
Then another notification appeared on my laptop.
A new email had arrived from Daniel Brooks.
Subject: *URGENT — THE ORIGINAL HOSPITAL RECORDS*
I opened it.
There was one attachment.
A scanned hospital document dated the night Caroline died.
At the bottom was a signature I recognized immediately.
Victoria Carter.
But it wasn't the signature that made my hands shake.
It was the sentence written directly above it:
Patient's biological daughter to remain under temporary guardianship until estate transfer is completed.
And beneath that sentence was a second name.
Nathan Reed's father.
I stared at the screen.
My fiancé's family hadn't just helped my mother steal my inheritance.
They had been connected to the secret surrounding my birth from the very beginning.
Then my phone rang again.
This time, it was Nathan.
I answered.
He sounded breathless.
“Madison, don't go to Bellamere tomorrow.””
“Why?””
“Your mother found out about the recording.””
I stood.
“What did she do?””
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“She knows what Eleanor hid beneath the pearls. And she's already arranged for someone to remove the entire train before the ceremony.””
I looked at the gold gown.
Then at the ivory one Brittany had stolen.
“Let her try,” I said.
Nathan was silent.
Then he whispered something that made my blood run cold.
“Madison, your mother isn't the only person who wants that recording destroyed.””
The call disconnected.
And when I looked at the security monitor, I saw a black SUV pulling up outside my studio.
May you like
Two men stepped out.
One of them was carrying a pair of industrial scissors.
