The Groom Became the Suspect
Chapter 05 - The Groom Became the Suspect
Emily took off her wedding ring.
She did not throw it.
She placed it carefully on the conference table between herself and Ryan.
That hurt him more.
"Emily."
"I need to understand what is real."
"The transfer is fake."
"Then prove it."
Ryan looked at Mark. "Get the bank records."
His voice had the sharp confidence of a man used to solving problems with authority.
Emily had once found that reassuring.
Tonight, it sounded like panic.
Vivian watched her son with a strange expression. Not satisfaction. Not fear.
Recognition.
"You used the family office for the wedding payments," she said.
Ryan turned toward her.
"Most of them."
"Then someone with access to the family office could have created the transfer."
Ryan's face changed.
There were only four people with that access.
Ryan.
Vivian.
The family's longtime attorney, Miles Bennett.
And the chief financial officer of the foundation, Andrew Pike.
Emily remembered meeting Andrew at the rehearsal dinner.
Quiet. Polite. Forgettable.
He had left early.
"What if this was never about me?" Emily said.
No one answered.
"What if the cake was supposed to make us blame Vivian, and the transfer was supposed to make us blame Ryan?"
Ryan looked at her.
Vivian's attorney shifted in his chair.
Emily continued. "Who benefits if this family turns on itself before Ryan can examine the foundation?"
Vivian suddenly stood.
"Andrew."
The room went silent.
Ryan shook his head. "Andrew has worked for us for eighteen years."
"Exactly," Vivian said. "He knows every account."
Mark's phone rang.
He answered, listened, and looked toward the door.
"We found the wedding coordinator."
Emily stood.
"Where?"
"In the parking garage."
"Is she okay?"
Mark hesitated.
"She's alive. But she is terrified."
A few minutes later, Celeste entered wrapped in a hotel blanket.
Her mascara had run down her cheeks.
She looked at Emily and began crying.
"I'm sorry."
Emily felt her stomach drop.
Celeste reached into her pocket and handed her a small brass key.
"He told me if I didn't help him, he would destroy everything I built."
"Who?"
Celeste looked past Emily toward Vivian.
Then toward Ryan.
Finally, she whispered a name.
"Miles Bennett."
May you like
The family attorney.
The man sitting in the room with them.
