Chapter 3 - The Secret Inside the Rabbit
Daniel's words hung in the hallway.
You said she didn't have it.
No one moved.
Emily didn't even realize she had stopped breathing until her lungs began to hurt.
Daniel looked at her.
“I can explain.”
Three years.
Emily had heard those words from characters in movies.
From cheating husbands in stories.
From politicians caught lying.
She had never imagined hearing them five minutes before her own wedding.
“Then explain.”
Daniel looked toward the security officers.
“Not here.”
Emily laughed once.
There was nothing humorous in the sound.
“You've spent ten minutes telling me this is nothing. Now suddenly it needs privacy?”
“Emily.”
Renee stepped between Daniel and Lily.
“Sir, don't approach the child.”
Daniel's frustration flared.
“I wasn't.”
Lily held the memory card against her chest.
Emily crouched again.
“Lily, did your mother tell you what's on this?”
The child nodded.
“She said it was insurance.”
Charles swore softly.
Renee heard him.
“What does that mean?”
“No idea.”
Lily continued.
“Mommy said if people came for her, I had to keep Bunny safe.”
She looked at the stuffed rabbit.
Emily's heart broke at the simplicity of it.
An adult had apparently understood she was in danger.
And the only person she could trust with evidence was her seven-year-old daughter.
“Where is your mother now?”
Lily looked uncertain.
“I don't know.”
Charles said, “Her mother abandoned her.”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
“She left months ago.”
“No!”
Emily touched Lily's shoulder.
“Don't listen to him.”
Charles stared at her.
“You're making this worse.”
“For whom?”
He had no answer.
Police arrived minutes later.
The service hallway became crowded.
Two officers separated Charles and Daniel.
A child-protection specialist named Naomi Foster knelt beside Lily and spent several minutes speaking softly with her.
Emily refused to leave.
Daniel repeatedly asked to speak privately.
She refused that too.
Finally an officer approached.
“Ms. Carter?”
Emily almost corrected him automatically.
Soon she was supposed to be Mrs. Whitmore.
The thought made her nauseous.
“Yes?”
“We need the memory card.”
Lily wouldn't let go.
Emily whispered, “It's okay.”
Lily looked at her.
“Will they give it to him?”
“No.”
Emily didn't actually know that.
But Naomi nodded.
“No one is giving it to Mr. Mercer.”
Slowly, Lily opened her fist.
The officer placed the card into an evidence bag.
Charles stared at it.
Daniel refused to look.
That frightened Emily more.
Eventually hotel security moved everyone into separate rooms.
Emily sat with Lily in a small conference room.
Her wedding gown occupied half the chair beside her.
The ridiculous beauty of it made her want to cry.
Hours of fittings.
Thousands of dollars.
Eighteen months of decisions about lace and flowers and invitations.
Now there was dirt on the hem from the storage-room floor.
Emily preferred it that way.
It felt honest.
Lily leaned against her.
“You were supposed to get married.”
Emily looked at her.
“How did you know?”
“The dress.”
For the first time, Emily smiled.
“Good clue.”
“Are you going to be in trouble?”
The question hit strangely.
“For what?”
“For helping me.”
Emily looked at the child.
“No.”
Lily stared at her hands.
“Mommy got in trouble for helping people.”
“What people?”
Lily didn't answer.
Naomi returned.
“Emily, could I speak with you?”
Emily followed her into the hall.
“Is she okay?”
“Physically, yes. Emotionally, she's been through something significant.”
“Do you believe her?”
Naomi hesitated carefully.
“I believe her fear is real.”
“What about Charles?”
“We're verifying everything.”
“And Daniel?”
Naomi studied Emily.
“You might want to prepare yourself.”
“For what?”
“We found preliminary information connected to Lily's mother.”
Emily felt her stomach drop.
“What information?”
“Sarah Brooks worked for Mercer Development.”
Daniel and Charles's company network.
“What did she do?”
“Financial compliance.”
Emily knew enough about Daniel's work to understand the significance.
Sarah would have had access to financial records.
“Was she fired?”
“She disappeared.”
Emily stared at Naomi.
“When?”
“Four months ago.”
“Charles said she was dead.”
“We can't confirm that.”
Emily leaned against the wall.
“What about Daniel?”
“His name appears in several records connected to the company.”
“That's not surprising. They do business together.”
“No.”
Naomi spoke gently.
“I mean records involving Sarah.”
Emily closed her eyes.
The air felt too warm.
“What records?”
“We don't have enough yet.”
The conference-room door opened.
Lily stood there.
“Emily?”
Emily immediately returned.
“I'm here.”
The girl looked relieved.
That expression decided something for Emily.
Whatever happened next, she would not abandon her.
Hours passed.
Guests eventually left.
Emily's mother came upstairs.
She took one look at her daughter sitting beside a frightened little girl and didn't ask about the wedding.
She simply sat down and held Emily's hand.
Daniel tried repeatedly to see her.
Emily refused.
At nearly midnight, Detective Marcus Hale arrived.
He was quiet, middle-aged, and direct.
“We accessed part of the memory card.”
Emily's heart began pounding.
“What was on it?”
“Photographs. Financial documents. Audio files.”
Emily looked toward Lily, now asleep beneath a blanket.
“And?”
Hale pulled out a chair.
“Sarah Brooks appears to have documented a money-laundering operation connected to several shell companies.”
Emily felt cold.
“Charles?”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel?”
The detective paused.
“Yes.”
Emily stared at him.
“How involved?”
“We don't know yet.”
“Did he know about Lily?”
“We believe so.”
The room blurred.
Emily gripped the edge of the table.
“What else?”
“There are photographs of meetings between Daniel Whitmore, Charles Mercer, and several individuals currently under federal investigation.”
Emily swallowed.
“Sarah took them?”
“Possibly.”
“Why?”
“We think she discovered irregular transactions at Mercer Development and began collecting evidence.”
“And then she disappeared.”
“Yes.”
Emily looked at Lily.
“Was Charles keeping her?”
“We're investigating.”
“Why would he bring her to my wedding?”
Hale leaned back.
“That's the question.”
Emily thought about it.
Lily in the hallway.
Dirty dress.
Missing shoe.
Terrified.
“Maybe he didn't bring her as a guest.”
The detective watched her.
“What do you mean?”
“She was hiding.”
Emily pictured the service corridor.
The storage room.
“She might have been brought through the hotel without anyone seeing.”
Hale nodded slowly.
“That possibility has occurred to us.”
Emily's phone buzzed.
Daniel.
Again.
She ignored it.
Hale noticed.
“You may want to speak with him eventually.”
“I don't know who he is.”
“I understand.”
“No.”
Emily looked directly at the detective.
“I don't think anyone understands. I was five minutes away from marrying him.”
Hale remained quiet.
Emily's phone buzzed again.
This time a text appeared.
PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN BEFORE YOU BELIEVE THEM.
Another message.
I WAS TRYING TO PROTECT YOU.
Emily stared.
Protect her.
From what?
She typed nothing.
Then another message arrived.
SARAH IS ALIVE.
Emily stood so fast the chair moved backward.
Hale noticed.
“What happened?”
Emily showed him the phone.
The detective's expression sharpened.
“Don't respond.”
Then Daniel sent another message.
I KNOW WHERE SHE IS.
Emily's heart hammered.
Hale immediately contacted another officer.
But before he could finish speaking, another message appeared.
This one contained an address.
Then:
CHARLES DOESN'T KNOW.
IF THEY ARREST ME, SHE DIES.
Emily stared at the screen.
Everything had changed again.
Daniel might be lying.
He might be manipulating her.
But if Sarah Brooks was alive, somewhere alone and in danger, ignoring him could cost a woman her life.
Hale took the phone.
“We'll handle this.”
Emily looked at Lily.
The little girl stirred in her sleep and whispered one word.
“Mommy.”
Emily's chest tightened.
She looked back at the address Daniel had sent.
The night that was supposed to begin her marriage had become something else entirely.
A hunt for the truth.
May you like
And somewhere in Chicago, if Daniel was telling the truth, Lily's mother was waiting to be found.
But what Emily did not yet know was that Daniel's message was only half the truth—and the other half would reveal why he had been so desperate to marry her that night.
