Chapter 2
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Adrian looked down at his jacket as though it belonged to someone else.
"What did your father just say?"
His voice sounded strangely small.
I kept the phone pressed against my ear.
"You heard him."
Bianca suddenly rushed forward.
"That's impossible!"
The word came out too quickly.
Too loudly.
I noticed.
So did my father.
"Serena," he said, "put me on speaker."
I pressed the button.
His voice filled the silent space around us.
"My name is Richard Whitmore. I am the chairman of Whitmore Hospitality Group and the owner of this property."
A ripple of whispers spread through the ballroom.
Margaret gripped the back of a chair.
"Whitmore?"
My father continued.
"My security director has reviewed the relevant footage. Nobody is being detained unlawfully. However, I strongly recommend that the people involved remain until the responding officers finish their investigation."
Bianca grabbed Adrian's arm.
"Tell him he's wrong!"
Adrian looked at me.
"Serena, what is this?"
I stared at him.
"An investigation. The one your sister demanded."
His jaw tightened.
"Don't play games with me."
I almost smiled.
Three years of marriage.
Three years of being treated like an inconvenience.
And now, suddenly, he wanted answers from me.
I pointed toward his coat.
"Check your pocket."
"I'm not doing this."
"Why not?"
"Because this is ridiculous!"
A deep voice spoke behind him.
"Sir, the officers can assist with that."
I turned.
My father's head of security, Marcus Hill, had entered with two uniformed police officers.
Marcus was a tall man in his forties who had worked for our family for almost fifteen years.
He had once taught me how to change a tire.
Now he looked at my torn dress and his expression hardened.
"Miss Serena, are you injured?"
"I'm all right."
He didn't look convinced.
"Would you like medical assistance?"
"Please have someone check the baby."
"Immediately."
One officer approached Adrian.
"Sir, we received a report of a missing valuable item and an allegation of assault. We'd like to speak with you."
Adrian pointed at Bianca.
"She's the one who lost her ring!"
Bianca started crying again.
"I didn't lose it! Serena stole it!"
Marcus remained calm.
"The footage suggests otherwise."
Margaret stepped between them.
"This is harassment! We are paying guests!"
Marcus looked at her.
"Mrs. Blackwood, your family's event account has not yet been paid in full. But that is a separate matter."
Someone near the front coughed to hide a laugh.
Margaret turned scarlet.
I should have felt satisfied.
Instead, I was exhausted.
My feet hurt.
My stomach felt heavy.
And my husband was still looking at me as though I had betrayed him.
One officer asked Adrian if he would voluntarily allow them to inspect his jacket.
After a long pause, he agreed.
He reached into the inside pocket himself.
His fingers closed around something.
I watched his expression change.
Slowly, he pulled out an antique diamond ring.
Bianca made a choking sound.
The diamond glittered beneath the chandeliers.
"There!" Adrian shouted. "Someone planted it!"
"That's what my father said," I replied.
He glared at me.
"You think this is funny?"
"No."
My voice cracked.
"I think it's heartbreaking."
The officer placed the ring into an evidence bag after documenting its discovery.
"Mr. Blackwood, who has had access to your jacket this evening?"
Adrian frowned.
"I don't know."
Marcus looked toward the ballroom doors.
"The footage records an interaction in the private reception lounge seventeen minutes before the accusation."
"Show us!" Bianca demanded.
Marcus looked at the officer.
"We can provide the recording directly to investigators."
My father spoke again.
"Serena, I'm coming downstairs."
"Dad, you don't have to."
"Yes, sweetheart. I do."
The call ended.
A hotel employee approached me carrying a soft cream-colored shawl.
"Miss Whitmore, may I?"
I nodded.
She wrapped it carefully around my shoulders.
Then she quietly handed me a bottle of water.
"Your father asked us to make sure you're comfortable."
Her kindness nearly brought me to tears.
I thanked her.
That was when Margaret suddenly approached.
Her smile was gone.
"Serena, darling."
I stared at her.
She had never called me darling before.
"We may have had a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?"
She glanced at the officers.
"Emotions were running high."
"You ripped open my dress."
"I was upset about Bianca's ring."
"You grabbed a pregnant woman and humiliated her in public."
Her face tightened.
"Keep your voice down."
I shook my head.
"No. I'm finished being quiet."
Adrian rushed over.
"Serena, we need to talk privately."
"No."
"Please."
"No, Adrian."
His eyes searched mine.
For the first time, he seemed to understand that I wasn't going to obey him.
"You're my wife."
I looked at him.
"Then why did you hand my purse to your sister?"
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
"Why did you let your mother attack me?"
"I didn't know she was going to do that."
"But you watched afterward."
His eyes dropped.
"You watched me holding my dress together while strangers stared. And you still chose them."
"Serena—"
"You made your choice."
He reached for my hand.
I stepped away.
"Don't."
Behind him, Bianca whispered something to her new husband, Nathan.
Nathan looked increasingly uncomfortable.
He was a quiet thirty-four-year-old architect who had always treated me politely.
He had spent most of the evening standing apart from Bianca's confrontations.
Now he approached an officer.
"Excuse me."
Bianca grabbed his wrist.
"Nathan, stop."
He pulled away.
"I need to tell them something."
Her face drained.
"Nathan!"
The officer turned.
"What would you like to report?"
Nathan swallowed.
"Earlier tonight, I saw Bianca talking to Adrian in the private lounge."
Bianca shook her head violently.
"That's not true!"
Nathan ignored her.
"She was holding a small jewelry box."
My heartbeat quickened.
"What happened next?" the officer asked.
Nathan looked toward Adrian.
"She hugged him. Then she reached inside his jacket."
Adrian went completely still.
Bianca's eyes filled with panic.
Nathan continued.
"At the time, I thought she was fixing his pocket square."
Margaret interrupted.
"That proves nothing!"
"No," Nathan answered quietly. "But what she said afterward might."
Bianca stepped toward him.
"Don't you dare!"
Nathan's expression hardened.
"She told me Serena was finally going to learn her place."
The ballroom erupted into whispers.
I felt the baby move again.
My hands began trembling.
Then the double doors opened.
My father walked in.
He wore a dark navy suit, his silver hair neatly combed, and the same expression I remembered from childhood whenever someone had hurt me.
He wasn't looking at Adrian.
Or Margaret.
Or Bianca.
He was looking at my torn dress.
"Serena."
I tried to smile.
"Dad."
He crossed the ballroom and gently wrapped his arms around me.
I finally started crying.
He kissed my forehead.
Then he looked at my husband.
"What I have seen tonight is unforgivable."
Adrian straightened.
"Mr. Whitmore, I can explain."
My father raised one hand.
"You will have an opportunity to give your explanation to the proper people."
Then he turned toward Marcus.
"Has the entire recording been preserved?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good."
I wiped my eyes.
"Dad, what else did you find?"
His expression changed.
He looked at Adrian.
Then at Margaret.
"Something much worse than a stolen ring."
I felt a chill.
"What?"
My father took a folded document from his inside pocket.
"Serena, three days ago, someone submitted paperwork attempting to transfer your marital home into a company controlled by your mother-in-law."
I stopped breathing.
"Our house?"
He nodded.
"The documents carry your signature."
I stared at him.
May you like
Then slowly shook my head.
"But I never signed anything."
