Chapter 4: The Price of Silence
Daniel guided his mother into a chair.
“Mom, look at me,” he said.
“Did you offer Claire money to cancel the wedding?”
His mother stared at the mud on her hands.
“I wrote the check.”
A murmur moved through the ballroom.
Claire lifted her chin.
“There.
She admitted it.”
Daniel’s hand slipped from his mother’s shoulder.
She looked up at the movement.
“Daniel, please.”
“You wanted Claire gone?”
“I wanted your money returned.”
Claire’s smile vanished.
Daniel crouched in front of his mother.
“What money?”
“Vendor deposits.
Repeated invoices.
Payments for services that never existed.”
Claire stepped forward.
“She has no idea how weddings work.”
“I know how bank statements work,” his mother replied.
Daniel’s father placed another page on the table.
“Your mother noticed three payments to a company called Everbright Events.”
“I hired them,” Claire said.
“No,” Daniel’s mother replied.
“You created them.”
Claire laughed.
“That is ridiculous.”
“The address belongs to Marcus.”
Daniel turned toward Claire.
“Is that true?”
“Marcus receives mail for several businesses.”
“Did ninety-six thousand dollars go into his account?”
“You trusted me with the wedding budget.”
“I trusted you to pay for a wedding, not your brother.”
Claire pulled out her phone.
“Your mother is twisting this because she never believed I was good enough for you.”
Daniel’s mother rose too quickly and caught the table.
“I wrote that check after Claire told me the money was already gone,” she said.
“She promised to return it if I stayed away from the wedding.”
Daniel took one step back.
“You paid her?”
“I thought I could protect you.”
“By hiding it from me?”
“I had already received messages from your phone telling me you were ashamed of me.”
Daniel’s mother pressed both hands over her mouth.
Her shoulders shook.
Daniel reached for her, but she pulled away.
“You believed them?” he asked.
“You stopped answering my calls.”
“I was told you needed space.”
“And I was told you wanted me gone.”
Claire raised her phone.
“Would anyone like to see the recording where she begs me to take the money and leave Daniel alone?”
She pressed play.
Daniel’s mother’s voice filled the room.
Take it.
Take every penny.
Just give him back what belongs to him and leave him in peace.
Claire stopped the recording.
“You hear that?” she asked.
“She wanted me gone.”
Daniel’s mother wiped her face.
“Play the beginning.”
“That is the entire recording.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Claire slid the phone into her purse.
“You’re confused again.”
“Stop saying that,” Daniel said.
A man’s voice came from the entrance.
“She isn’t confused.”
An older man stood between the open doors holding a suitcase and a weather-stained tablet.
Daniel’s mother gripped the chair.
“That’s the cottage owner.”
The man lowered his eyes.
“My name is Arthur Cole.
Claire’s brother told me his aunt was unwell and under a doctor’s care.”
“You locked her in,” Daniel’s father said.
Arthur’s face tightened.
“I did, and I will answer for that.”
Claire moved toward him.
“You signed an agreement.
You cannot discuss a private guest.”
Arthur set the suitcase beside Daniel’s mother.
“Her medication and belongings are inside.
I brought them because I owe her more than an apology.”
“You owe me silence,” Claire said.
Arthur lifted the tablet.
“Marcus called me this afternoon.
My doorbell system recorded every word.”
Claire stopped.
Arthur looked directly at Daniel.
May you like
“He didn’t call your mother his aunt,” he said.
“He called her the last obstacle.”
