Chapter 8
I left Nia's hospital room and walked into the corridor.
For several seconds, I stood against the wall.
Then I began crying.
Not quietly.
Not politely.
I cried until my chest hurt.
My younger brother had known.
He had known someone was planning to stand at my wedding wearing my fiancée's face.
He had known Nia was missing.
And he had allowed the ceremony to continue.
I remembered him adjusting my tie that morning.
"You ready, big brother?"
I smiled.
"More than ready."
He hugged me.
"I'm proud of you."
Now those words felt poisonous.
Detective Jackson arrived shortly afterward.
I told her what Nia had said.
She listened carefully.
Then she asked whether Nia felt able to provide a formal statement later.
I nodded.
"She wants to."
The detective looked at me.
"Marcus, we're investigating Daniel's role."
I stared at her.
"He knew."
"We need to establish exactly what he knew and when."
I took a shaky breath.
"I understand."
But I didn't know whether I could ever forgive him.
The following morning, Danielle arrived at the hospital with Lily.
I had warned Nia that they were coming.
She insisted she wanted to see them.
When Lily entered the room, she froze.
"Aunt Nia?"
Nia smiled through her tears.
"Hi, sweetheart."
Lily ran toward the bed.
Then stopped.
She looked at the bandages around Nia's wrists.
"Can I hug you?"
Nia began crying.
"Of course."
I helped Lily climb onto the bed carefully.
She wrapped her arms around Nia.
"I found the lady behind the flowers."
Nia kissed her forehead.
"I know."
Lily looked serious.
"I broke the wall."
Nia laughed through her tears.
"I heard."
"Are you mad?"
Nia shook her head.
"No, baby."
Lily hugged her tighter.
"I thought somebody needed help."
Nia closed her eyes.
"You were right."
I watched them together.
The woman I loved.
The little girl I had helped raise after Danielle's divorce.
Both frightened.
Both brave.
Both alive.
For the first time since the wedding, I felt hope stronger than fear.
Danielle wiped her cheeks.
"I don't know how to thank you, Lily."
My niece shrugged.
"Aunt Nia says if somebody needs help, you tell a grown-up."
I smiled sadly.
"And you did."
Lily nodded.
"But they didn't listen."
The room became quiet.
I crouched beside her.
"You're right."
She looked at me.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. We should have listened sooner."
Lily studied my face.
Then she smiled.
"It's okay."
I hugged her.
But I knew it wasn't entirely okay.
A seven-year-old child had been forced to make adults pay attention to someone in danger.
We needed to make sure she never felt that responsibility again.
After Danielle took Lily home, Detective Jackson returned.
She had news.
Victor Hale had been arrested.
So had Rochelle Bennett.
Celeste remained under investigation for her role in the kidnapping, identity deception, and attempted financial fraud.
I felt relief.
Then I asked about Daniel.
The detective's expression became serious.
"He has provided additional information."
I stared at her.
"What information?"
"Records of payments and communications with Victor."
I swallowed.
"Did he confess?"
"He acknowledged knowing that someone would impersonate Nia at the ceremony."
My knees weakened.
I gripped the chair.
"He knew."
The detective nodded.
"He claims he believed Nia was being kept somewhere temporarily and would be released once the documents were signed."
I stared at her.
"He knew she was being held against her will."
"His statement indicates he understood she was not participating voluntarily."
I closed my eyes.
The truth was worse than I had imagined.
My brother hadn't simply been careless.
He had chosen money over Nia's safety.
I looked at Detective Jackson.
"How much did they promise him?"
"Two hundred thousand dollars."
I laughed bitterly.
The exact amount written behind our bachelor-party photograph.
My brother had put a price on my future.
Then I asked the question that had been haunting me.
"Did he get the money?"
"Investigators identified a smaller payment connected to him."
I felt sick.
"How much?"
"Twenty-five thousand dollars."
I stared at the floor.
Twenty-five thousand.
That was the amount he had apparently accepted before the plan collapsed.
A fraction of what he had been promised.
And enough to destroy our family.
That evening, Nia asked me to sit beside her.
She looked tired.
But her eyes were clear.
"Marcus."
"Yes, baby?"
"I know you're hurting."
I shook my head.
"Not as much as you."
She took my hand.
"Pain isn't a competition."
I looked at her.
She continued.
"Daniel betrayed both of us."
My throat tightened.
"I know."
"You don't have to pretend you're okay."
I began crying.
She pulled me closer.
For a while, we sat together without speaking.
Then she whispered, "I was so scared."
I held her hand.
"I know."
"I thought I'd never see you again."
My chest tightened.
She continued.
"They kept telling me the wedding was happening without me."
I closed my eyes.
"They said you'd believe Celeste."
I looked at her.
"Never."
Nia shook her head.
"Marcus, the disguise looked exactly like me."
I swallowed.
"I know."
She stared at me.
"What if Lily hadn't found Evelyn?"
I couldn't answer.
That possibility had haunted me every night.
Nia squeezed my hand.
"But she did."
I nodded.
"And you didn't sign anything."
I looked at her.
She smiled faintly.
"We're still here."
I began crying again.
She touched my cheek.
"We have to decide what happens next."
I looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"The wedding."
My heart tightened.
"Nia, we don't have to think about that now."
She nodded.
"I know."
Then she took a breath.
"But I don't want what Celeste did to be the last memory we have of our wedding."
I stared at her.
She continued.
"I don't want to spend the rest of my life seeing that flower wall whenever I think about marrying you."
I moved closer.
"Then we won't."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Do you still want to marry me?"
The question nearly broke me.
I took both her hands.
"Nia, I wanted to marry you before any of this happened."
She began crying.
"I still want to marry you."
I kissed her forehead.
"But only when you're ready."
She smiled.
"Okay."
Then her expression changed.
"Marcus?"
"Yes?"
"There's something I haven't told the police yet."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
She hesitated.
"Before Celeste left the retreat, she said something about my father's death."
I stared at her.
"What did she say?"
Nia swallowed.
"She said my father didn't die believing I was safe."
May you like
I felt cold.
Then Nia whispered, "She said he knew someone was coming for me."
