Chapter 6 - The Wedding That Stopped
Daniel stared at Vanessa as if she had become a stranger.
“Explain.”
“Not here.”
“You invited my ex-wife here.”
“Daniel—”
“You let me believe this child was mine.”
Vanessa looked at me.
“You did this.”
“No,” I said quietly. “The laboratory did.”
Margaret snatched the report.
Her hands shook.
“This is fake.”
“It has been authenticated.”
“You forged it!”
Elena stepped beside me.
“I'd be careful with accusations.”
Margaret recognized her and went silent.
Daniel looked around.
Two hundred guests.
Phones.
Whispers.
His dream wedding had become a courtroom without a judge.
“Who is the father?” he demanded.
Vanessa started crying.
For months, she had displayed her pregnancy like a crown.
Now she covered her stomach protectively.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“After the wedding.”
A sound moved through the room.
Daniel looked physically sick.
“After?”
“I love you.”
“WHO IS THE FATHER?”
Vanessa whispered a name.
“Evan.”
Daniel froze.
So did Margaret.
I didn't recognize it.
Daniel did.
“Evan Cole?”
Vanessa nodded.
Daniel stepped backward.
His best friend.
His business partner on two side ventures.
The man scheduled to give a toast at the reception.
Somewhere behind us, a glass shattered.
Evan had apparently just entered.
Daniel saw him.
The room exploded into noise.
I turned away.
This was no longer my confrontation.
My job was finished.
Or so I thought.
Before I reached the door, Margaret shouted.
“Claire!”
I turned.
She pointed at me.
“You destroyed this family!”
I looked at Lily.
Then back at her.
“No. I brought paperwork.”
That sentence would later be repeated online thousands of times by people who had been at the wedding.
But in that moment, I simply left.
Outside, I breathed for what felt like the first time in months.
Elena followed.
“That was restrained.”
“I didn't come for a scene.”
“You brought a paternity test to a wedding.”
“I brought an answer.”
She laughed.
Then her phone rang.
Her smile disappeared.
“What?”
She listened.
“When?”
Another pause.
“We're coming.”
“What happened?”
She looked at me.
“Daniel's former controller contacted investigators.”
My stomach tightened.
“About what?”
May you like
“Whitmore.”
The wedding scandal was about to become the least important problem Daniel had.
