Fourteen Minutes of Darkness
Chapter 05 - Fourteen Minutes of Darkness
Nate came to the bakery at eight the next morning.
He looked like he hadn’t slept.
Neither had I.
Carter & Daughters was closed, but I unlocked the front door and let him in. The familiar smell of cinnamon, yeast, and coffee should have comforted me.
Instead, every stainless-steel surface reminded me of the missing knife.
Daniel stood near the counter.
I had asked him to come because I no longer trusted myself to tell the difference between a lie and an explanation.
Nate noticed him immediately.
“I thought this was family.”
Daniel’s expression stayed calm.
“It was supposed to be.”
Nate looked at me.
I pointed to a chair.
“Why did the church cameras go down for fourteen minutes?”
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“Lauren asked me to shut off the hallway feed.”
The words landed harder than I expected.
“Why?”
“She said you had a dress emergency.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“What kind of emergency requires disabling security footage?”
Nate’s eyes moved to him.
“She said the photographer had accidentally caught her changing in the hallway reflection. She was upset. She wanted the feed off while she fixed something.”
“Did that make sense to you?” I asked.
“No.”
“Then why did you do it?”
His mouth tightened.
“Because she’s my wife.”
For one bitter second, I almost laughed.
That was the excuse people used when love became permission.
“What happened to the bakery money?”
Nate’s face drained.
He looked toward the dark kitchen.
Then back at me.
“I told her not to take it.”
My knees weakened.
Daniel stepped closer, but I lifted one hand.
I did not want him holding me while another truth arrived.
Nate told us his restaurant debts were worse than we knew. He owed vendors, a private lender, and back taxes. Lauren had transferred money into North Pine to keep their house from being seized and to settle two urgent debts.
“She said she would replace it,” he said.
“With what?”
“She thought the restaurant property would sell.”
“It didn’t.”
He shook his head.
I thought of my father.
He had worked thirty-one years in that bakery.
He used to say flour was cheap but trust was expensive.
Lauren had taken both.
“Did you know about the knife?” Daniel asked.
Nate’s head snapped up.
“No.”
“Did you help her get into the bridal suite?”
“I shut off the cameras. That’s all.”
I wanted to believe him.
Then he said something that made Daniel and me look at each other.
“Lauren wasn’t alone that afternoon.”
“Who was with her?” I asked.
Nate swallowed.
“Your mother-in-law.”
Margaret.
May you like
The woman who had stood in the church and asked what the knife was doing under my dress.
Suddenly, the betrayal had two faces.
