Chapter 4 - No Wedding TodayFor one remarkable second, nobody moved.
Every time Daniel changed lanes, it followed.
When he slowed, it slowed.
When he accelerated, it kept pace.
“Call Rachel,” I said.
Daniel already had his phone in his hand.
Rachel told us not to go to her apartment.
“Head toward the state police station on Commerce Road,” she said. “Stay on major roads. Do not stop.”
The SUV remained three cars back.
My imagination began inventing everything Grant might do.
Force us off the road.
Follow us somewhere isolated.
Send someone else so he could claim ignorance.
I hated how quickly my mind had learned to think like prey.
Daniel glanced at me.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Good answer.”
Despite everything, that sounded like my brother.
For years, he had been the person who refused comforting lies.
When our father’s cancer came back, Daniel never said everything would be fine.
He said, “Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.”
I had forgotten how much safety there was in someone telling the truth.
As the police station appeared ahead, the SUV suddenly turned onto an exit.
Daniel exhaled.
“Did you get the plate?”
“Partial.”
I had typed it into my phone.
Rachel told us to give everything to investigators.
At the station, two detectives met us.
Detective Marisol Vega was in her early forties, compact and serious.
Detective Aaron Pierce looked younger but had the tired eyes of someone who had been awake too long.
They listened to the audio.
Twice.
Vega asked whether the voices were unquestionably Grant and Vivian.
“Yes.”
“Would you testify to that?”
“Yes.”
She asked about the trust, insurance, wedding timeline, lake house, hiking trips, convertible, and Lauren.
Then she asked, “Has Grant ever encouraged you to take risks?”
The question hit strangely.
I remembered our anniversary trip to Colorado.
Grant had insisted we hike a ridge trail during questionable weather.
When I wanted to turn back, he teased me for being cautious.
Then there was the lake.
He had encouraged me to swim farther from shore even though the current was rough.
And two months ago, my convertible’s brake warning light came on.
Grant offered to take it to a mechanic.
The mechanic later said nothing was wrong.
At the time, those events had no connection.
Now I felt nauseated.
Vega noticed.
“What?”
I told her.
She wrote everything down.
“Is the car accessible?”
“It’s parked at my apartment.”
“We’ll have someone secure it.”
Pierce asked whether I was willing to participate in a controlled conversation with Grant.
Daniel immediately said no.
Vega ignored him and looked at me.
“We’re not asking tonight. We need more information first.”
“What happens to the wedding?”
“That depends partly on you.”
I stared at her.
“I’m not marrying him.”
“I’m glad we cleared that up.”
For the first time all night, I almost smiled.
Vega continued.
“Canceling publicly too early may cause him to run or destroy evidence. But your safety comes first.”
Rachel arrived near dawn.
By six-thirty, we had a plan.
A disturbing one.
The wedding would appear to proceed.
I would remain somewhere secure.
My bridesmaids would be told there had been a medical emergency.
The venue would be instructed not to make announcements until absolutely necessary.
Meanwhile investigators would request warrants related to Grant’s devices, financial records, and possibly Vivian’s home.
“We need probable cause beyond one ambiguous conversation,” Rachel explained when Daniel protested.
“Ambiguous?” he snapped.
“He described killing her.”
“He described an ‘accident.’ A defense attorney will argue context. We need everything surrounding it.”
I understood.
A rich family with expensive lawyers would turn each sentence into fog.
So I agreed to help.
At seven-fifteen, I called Grant.
Vega sat beside me.
Rachel listened through headphones.
My hands trembled so badly I held the phone with both of them.
Grant answered immediately.
“Emily.”
“Hey.”
“Where are you?”
“At Megan’s.”
Megan was my maid of honor.
Police had already contacted her.
She would confirm the story if asked.
Grant exhaled.
“You scared me.”
“You scared me.”
Silence.
Then a soft laugh.
“Because you recorded us?”
I looked at Vega.
She nodded.
“I didn’t mean to. The recorder was running.”
“What exactly did you hear?”
“I don’t know.”
“Emily.”
His voice changed.
That old warmth entered it.
The voice he used when he wanted me to feel unreasonable.
“You heard part of a conversation without context.”
“Then give me context.”
Grant sighed.
“My mother and I were discussing a screenplay.”
I almost laughed.
“A screenplay?”
“You know she’s been talking about investing in that production company.”
Vivian had never once mentioned a production company.
Grant continued quickly.
“We were discussing a thriller pitch. Rich bride. Husband. Insurance. All that nonsense.”
I stared at Vega.
She wrote: KEEP HIM TALKING.
“And Lauren?”
A pause.
“What about Lauren?”
“You said once I was gone, you and Lauren could be together.”
“Character names.”
My heart broke again.
Not because I believed him.
Because his lies arrived so easily.
No hesitation.
No shame.
“Grant, are you in love with her?”
“Of course not.”
“Have you seen her?”
“No.”
Vega wrote another note.
ASK WHERE HE IS.
“Where are you?”
“At Mom’s.”
“Still?”
“We’re getting ready.”
His tone became tender.
“Baby, listen to me. You’re overwhelmed. Come here. We’ll talk privately before the ceremony.”
Every instinct screamed.
“No.”
A beat of silence.
Then he said, “Why not?”
“I need space.”
“Emily, we’re getting married in a few hours.”
“I know.”
“I love you.”
The words made my skin crawl.
“I love you too,” I forced myself to say.
Vega nodded approvingly.
Grant relaxed.
“Good. Come to the house.”
“I’ll see you at the venue.”
“No.”
The sharpness of that single word startled me.
Then he corrected himself.
“I mean, I don’t want you upset during the ceremony.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Emily—”
“I have to go.”
“Wait.”
I ended the call.
My hands shook afterward.
Vega said, “You did well.”
I didn’t feel like I had.
At nine, investigators received something unexpected.
Grant’s former girlfriend Lauren had entered the story on her own.
She had heard through a mutual friend that police were asking questions about Grant Ashford.
She called.
And what she told Detective Vega changed the investigation immediately.
Lauren hadn’t been Grant’s girlfriend three years ago.
She was still his girlfriend.
They had been seeing each other throughout our relationship.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
“Grant told me Emily knew,” Lauren said during a video call. Her eyes were swollen from crying. “He said their engagement was basically financial. He told me she agreed to marry him so he could access business connections.”
I stared at the screen.
“He told you I knew about you?”
“Yes.”
“And you believed him?”
“For a while.”
Lauren covered her mouth.
“Then six months ago, he started saying strange things.”
“What things?”
“He said everything would change after the wedding.”
Vega leaned closer.
“Did he mention Emily dying?”
Lauren went silent.
Finally she whispered, “Not directly.”
“Indirectly?”
“He once said, ‘Sometimes people become richer after tragedy than they ever were in life.’”
My stomach tightened.
Lauren continued.
“Then he asked me how long someone should wait to remarry after losing a spouse.”
Daniel swore under his breath.
Vega asked, “Do you have messages?”
Lauren nodded.
“Hundreds.”
By noon, police had enough to move faster.
A judge approved warrants for digital accounts and financial records.
The wedding remained scheduled for four.
At one-thirty, Grant texted.
Can’t wait to see you at the end of that aisle.
At two, Vivian called.
I let it ring.
At two-fifteen, Megan arrived at the secure location carrying my wedding dress.
“Why did you bring that?” Daniel demanded.
She looked at me.
“Because Emily asked me to.”
Daniel stared.
I had made the decision twenty minutes earlier.
I wasn’t going to hide in a room while Grant stood at the altar pretending he was the victim of a runaway bride.
The detectives initially rejected the idea.
Then Vega asked what I intended to do.
“Walk down the aisle.”
Daniel nearly exploded.
I continued.
“With officers nearby.”
Rachel studied me.
“What happens when you reach Grant?”
“I don’t marry him.”
“What do you do?”
I looked at my wedding dress hanging from Megan’s hand.
For months I had imagined wearing it while promising Grant forever.
Now I imagined something else.
“I tell the truth.”
Rachel warned me not to reveal details that could compromise the investigation.
I agreed.
By three-thirty, the venue was full.
Guests whispered about why no one had seen the bride.
Vivian reportedly looked furious.
Grant kept calling.
I ignored every call.
Then I put on my wedding dress.
Megan fastened the buttons.
When she finished, she started crying.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For thinking he was charming.”
“He fooled me too.”
“That’s different.”
“No,” I said. “It isn’t.”
At four-ten, I stood behind the closed doors of the garden venue.
The string quartet was still playing.
Two hundred guests waited beyond them.
Judge Lowell stood beside me.
He knew everything.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said.
“I know.”
“You can walk away quietly.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you here?”
I looked through the crack between the doors.
Grant stood beneath the flower-covered arch.
Beautiful.
Confident.
Waiting for the woman he believed he had successfully deceived.
“Because yesterday I almost became his wife.”
I lifted my chin.
“Today I want to become myself again.”
The doors opened.
Every guest stood.
Grant smiled.
For one second, the old reflex returned.
My heart remembered loving him.
Then I remembered his voice.
After that, Emily has a tragic accident.
I walked down the aisle.
Grant’s smile widened as I approached.
When I stopped in front of him, he reached for my hands.
I stepped back.
Confusion crossed his face.
“Emily?”
The music stopped.
I looked toward Vivian.
She was already pale.
Then I looked at Grant.
“You told me tomorrow begins forever.”
His smile disappeared.
I removed my engagement ring.
“But last night I learned exactly how short you intended my forever to be.”
A collective gasp moved through the guests.
May you like
Grant’s face drained of color.
And behind him, two detectives stepped onto the aisle.
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