Chapter 7
I couldn't stop staring at Vanessa's name.
She wasn't simply Marcus's mistress.
She was connected to the company he intended to use for the Willow Creek development.
Every ugly piece was beginning to fit together.
Daniel explained that Willow Creek Holdings had been created eight months earlier.
Vanessa was listed as its sole member.
Marcus's company had entered into a preliminary development agreement with it.
The arrangement depended on obtaining financing that was supposedly backed by my family's property.
"Was the property already transferred?" I asked.
"No," Daniel said. "From what I found, they hadn't completed that step."
I exhaled shakily.
Rebecca studied the documents.
"How did you obtain these records?"
Daniel looked her in the eye.
"I was the company's accountant. These came from financial records I was authorized to access during my employment."
"Do you still have the original files?"
"Yes. I've preserved the exports and the emails I received."
Rebecca nodded.
"Then you need to provide them through the proper investigative process."
Daniel looked toward my mother.
"Mrs. Carter, I wanted to warn you sooner."
Mom studied him.
"Why didn't you?"
He lowered his head.
"Vanessa is my sister. I thought I could convince her to stop."
The room went quiet.
"Did she listen?" Mom asked.
"No."
He swallowed.
"She told me I was jealous because Marcus was making her rich."
I looked at him.
"And Marcus threatened you?"
Daniel nodded.
"When I confronted him about the false property documents, he said he could ruin my career."
"What did he do?"
"He accused me of stealing company information. Then he fired me."
Tasha crossed her arms.
"Of course he did."
Daniel looked at me.
"I started sending you messages after I learned Marcus planned to marry you."
"You knew about Vanessa?"
"Yes."
I felt anger rising.
"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"
His expression filled with regret.
"I should have. I kept hoping I could convince my sister to walk away."
I wanted to scream.
How many people had known?
How many people had watched me plan a wedding while my fiancé betrayed me?
But when I looked at Daniel, I saw genuine shame.
He wasn't asking me to forgive him.
He was finally telling the truth.
"Thank you for coming forward," I said.
He nodded.
Then Rebecca opened a new file.
"We need to address the missing original estate papers."
Daniel frowned.
"What papers?"
"My father's will and property records."
He thought for a moment.
"Marcus asked me something strange a few weeks ago."
"What?"
"He wanted to know whether original wills could be replaced by scanned copies."
Rebecca's expression changed.
"What did you tell him?"
"That he needed to speak to an estate attorney."
I felt my stomach tighten.
Daniel continued.
"He said the Carter family records were outdated."
My mother shook her head.
"Your father updated his will before he died."
Rebecca nodded.
"I prepared it myself."
I turned toward her.
"Do you have a copy?"
"Yes."
Relief flooded me.
Rebecca opened a secure file on her computer.
The will had been executed eleven years earlier.
It left Willow Creek to my mother, with provisions addressing what would happen to the property after her death.
There was no clause giving Marcus any interest.
No secret agreement.
No authorization for his company.
I almost cried.
But Rebecca continued.
"The original is important, and we'll keep looking for it. However, stealing that envelope doesn't automatically erase the legally valid estate plan."
I looked at Mom.
She finally smiled.
A real smile.
For the first time since the wedding, hope returned to her face.
That afternoon, we met with Detective Walker again.
Daniel gave a formal statement.
Denise provided her messages.
I handed over copies of the security recordings.
Rebecca supplied the challenged loan documents.
The detective listened without promising immediate arrests.
"We have multiple allegations to investigate," he said. "We'll work with the appropriate financial investigators."
I understood.
This wasn't a television drama where someone confessed and the police instantly took them away.
It would take time.
It would take evidence.
And I would have to remain patient.
But patience became much harder that evening.
Because Marcus went public.
Tasha found his video on social media.
He was sitting in what looked like his office.
His eyes were red.
His voice sounded broken.
"I never imagined the woman I loved would humiliate me on our wedding day."
I stared at the screen.
He continued.
"Nia violently attacked a hairstylist because she was upset about an unfortunate accident."
My mother gasped.
Marcus shook his head.
"I tried to calm everyone down, but Nia ended our engagement in front of our family and friends."
He wiped his eyes.
"I still love her. I just hope she gets the help she needs."
The video had thousands of views.
Comments appeared faster than I could read them.
Some people called me cruel.
Others accused me of being unstable.
A few praised Marcus for being patient.
Then Vanessa posted a photograph.
It showed her uneven hair.
Her caption read:
"I was attacked at work by a jealous bride. I'm traumatized and considering legal action."
My hands shook with anger.
"They're lying."
Tasha grabbed my phone.
"Don't respond while you're upset."
"But people believe them!"
"Then let the evidence speak."
I looked at my mother.
She was watching Marcus's video with tears in her eyes.
Not because she believed him.
Because he was trying to make her daughter look like the villain.
Suddenly, Mom stood.
"Give me your phone."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"I want to record something."
"Mom, you don't have to."
She straightened her shoulders.
"Yes, I do."
Tasha positioned the phone.
My mother removed her scarf.
The uneven sections of hair were clearly visible.
She looked directly into the camera.
"My name is Evelyn Carter."
Her voice trembled, but she continued.
"On my daughter's wedding day, I repeatedly asked a hairstylist to stop cutting my hair. She ignored me."
She paused.
"My daughter made a mistake when she retaliated. I won't pretend otherwise."
I began crying.
"But my daughter did not invent my humiliation."
Mom looked straight into the camera.
"And I will not let anyone use my pain to destroy her reputation."
Tasha stopped recording.
I hugged my mother.
Within an hour, her video began spreading.
People started asking questions.
Then something unexpected happened.
A woman commented beneath the video.
"Vanessa did the same thing to my mother two years ago."
Below it, she posted photographs.
May you like
And one final sentence.
"I still have the salon's apology and the settlement agreement."
