Chapter 3 - Before the Wedding
Audrey stared at Victoria.
“What started before my wedding?”
Victoria’s lips parted, but Dominic interrupted.
“She’s trying to save herself.”
“Dominic,” Victoria said.
“Shut up.”
It was the first time Audrey had ever heard him speak to his mother that way.
That alone told her Victoria was about to reveal something important.
Detective Reed pulled out a chair.
“Mrs. Vale, sit down.”
Victoria obeyed.
Her hands were trembling.
Audrey had never seen that either.
For years, Victoria had been untouchable.
Elegant.
Cold.
Certain.
Now the pearls at her throat seemed less like jewelry and more like something tightening around her neck.
Victoria looked at Audrey.
“When Dominic met you, he already knew about the property.”
Audrey frowned.
“What property?”
“This house.”
Audrey’s heart sank.
Dominic had always claimed they met by chance.
Seven years earlier, Audrey had attended a charity auction in Boston.
Dominic had bumped into her near the coatroom.
He spilled champagne on his cuff.
She laughed.
He asked for her number.
That was the story they had told at their wedding.
The charming accident.
Victoria continued.
“Dominic knew who you were.”
Audrey turned toward him.
He stared at the floor.
“How?”
Victoria answered.
“Your grandfather.”
Audrey’s throat tightened.
Her grandfather had been a private man who built a successful property company and left most of his estate to Audrey.
“He researched families with inherited assets,” Victoria said.
Natalie whispered, “Mom, stop.”
“No.”
Victoria’s voice hardened.
“I’m finished protecting him.”
Dominic laughed bitterly.
“You’re protecting yourself.”
“Perhaps.”
Victoria looked at Audrey.
“But that doesn’t make this untrue.”
She explained.
Years earlier, the Vale family had been wealthy.
Or appeared wealthy.
Behind the image were debts.
Bad investments.
Loans.
Dominic had become obsessed with restoring the family fortune.
Then he discovered Audrey.
Young.
Recently orphaned.
Successful in her own right.
And heir to valuable property.
“He arranged to meet you,” Victoria said.
Audrey felt physically sick.
The gazebo.
The first date.
The handwritten notes.
The proposal.
Had he planned all of it?
Dominic finally spoke.
“I loved you.”
Audrey looked at him.
He sounded almost convincing.
That was what made him dangerous.
“You researched my inheritance before you introduced yourself.”
“I knew who you were. That doesn’t mean—”
“Did you?”
Silence.
Audrey stood.
“Did you know who I was before we met?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Yes.”
The answer landed more painfully than she expected.
Claire looked away.
Victoria continued.
“At first, he only wanted access.”
“At first?” Audrey repeated.
Victoria hesitated.
“He said he eventually loved you.”
Audrey almost smiled.
“What a comfort.”
Detective Ortiz asked, “Access to what?”
Victoria looked toward the table.
“Everything.”
The room became quiet.
Audrey remembered the early years.
Dominic encouraging her to merge accounts.
Dominic offering to manage bills.
Dominic recommending accountants.
Dominic suggesting his mother help with administrative work.
Each request had seemed small.
Reasonable.
Loving.
Together, they formed a pattern.
Audrey had spent months collecting evidence of what happened recently.
Now she realized the scheme might stretch back seven years.
Detective Reed asked Victoria whether documents existed.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Victoria looked toward Dominic.
He shook his head.
“Mother.”
She ignored him.
“There’s a storage unit.”
Audrey stared.
“Where?”
“Outside Hartford.”
Dominic surged forward.
Detective Reed caught his arm.
“Enough.”
Dominic struggled.
“You don’t know what she’s talking about!”
For the first time, his controlled mask disappeared completely.
Detective Ortiz moved in.
Seconds later, Dominic’s hands were secured behind him.
Audrey watched without satisfaction.
She had imagined this moment many times.
She expected triumph.
Instead, she felt grief.
Not for Dominic.
For the woman she had been when she believed him.
As the detectives prepared to take him away, Dominic looked at her.
“Audrey.”
She did not respond.
“You’re making a mistake.”
Still nothing.
His voice softened.
“You know me.”
Audrey finally met his eyes.
“That was my mistake.”
He was escorted toward the hallway.
Before disappearing, he looked back.
And smiled.
It was small.
Almost invisible.
But Audrey saw it.
A chill passed through her.
Dominic was frightened.
But he still believed he had something she did not know.
The front door closed behind him.
Audrey turned to Victoria.
“What’s in the storage unit?”
Victoria looked exhausted.
“Records.”
“What records?”
“Accounts. Agreements. Documents.”
“About me?”
Victoria nodded.
“And other people.”
Audrey frowned.
“What other people?”
Victoria looked toward Natalie.
Natalie immediately stood.
“No.”
Audrey turned.
Natalie’s face was wet with tears.
“What?”
Natalie shook her head.
“I never wanted this.”
Victoria stared at her daughter.
“Natalie.”
“No!”
Natalie grabbed her purse.
“I’m not doing this.”
Detective Ortiz blocked the doorway.
“Natalie, sit down.”
“I didn’t know everything.”
Audrey stepped toward her.
“What did you know?”
Natalie began crying.
“I knew Dominic married you because of money.”
Audrey’s stomach dropped.
“You knew?”
Natalie nodded.
“I thought he changed.”
“And the credit card?”
Natalie covered her face.
“He said it was his.”
Audrey stared at the woman who had spent years mocking her.
Natalie lowered her hands.
“There’s something else.”
Of course there was.
Tonight seemed endless.
“What?”
Natalie looked toward the hallway, making sure Dominic was gone.
“Two weeks ago, I heard him talking to someone.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did he say?”
Natalie swallowed.
“He said you were getting suspicious.”
Audrey waited.
Natalie’s voice became a whisper.
“And he said they needed to move up the timeline.”
Detective Reed, who had returned from the entrance, stopped.
“What timeline?”
Natalie shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Audrey thought of the insurance policy.
Three million dollars.
Suddenly the house felt colder.
Reed took out his phone.
“We need that storage unit secured tonight.”
Victoria gave him the address.
Detective Ortiz began making calls.
Audrey walked to the window.
Outside, police lights flickered silently through the trees.
The house reflected her face back at her.
For years she had thought she was trapped inside Dominic’s world.
Now she understood something worse.
Dominic had entered hers deliberately.
Her marriage had not become a trap.
It may have begun as one.
Then her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Audrey looked down.
A text message.
YOU SHOULD HAVE COOKED DINNER.
Her blood ran cold.
Another message arrived.
DOMINIC ISN’T THE ONLY ONE YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID OF.
Audrey looked toward Detective Reed.
“Detective?”
He saw her expression.
“What happened?”
She handed him the phone.
Reed read both messages.
His face hardened.
Then a third message appeared.
This one contained a photograph.
Audrey opened it.
The photograph had been taken through the dining-room window.
Minutes earlier.
It showed Audrey sitting at the table.
May you like
Someone had been outside watching them.
And whoever had taken the picture was still free.
