Chapter 4
Evelyn sat down slowly.
For several moments, she stared at the floor.
Isaiah stood beside me, his phone still displaying the forged authorization.
"Mom?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
Evelyn looked at him.
"Vanessa has done something like this before."
The room went silent.
I felt my heart pounding.
"What?"
Evelyn pressed her hands together.
"Three years ago, I discovered money missing from one of our family business accounts."
Isaiah stared at her.
"You told me there had been an accounting error."
"I know."
"Mom..."
"I was ashamed."
Her voice broke.
"Vanessa had been taking money to cover personal debts."
I sat down.
The entire evening suddenly felt unreal.
"How much?" I asked.
"Forty-two thousand dollars."
Isaiah took a step backward.
"You knew?"
Evelyn nodded.
"I confronted her. She cried. She promised she'd never do it again."
"And you believed her?"
"I wanted to."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I was her mother."
Isaiah let out a painful laugh.
"So you covered it up."
"Yes."
"And now she's stolen from Nia."
Evelyn looked at me.
"I'm so sorry."
I didn't know what to say.
I liked Evelyn.
She had welcomed me warmly from the beginning.
But now I realized she had hidden something that might have protected us.
"Why didn't you tell us?" I whispered.
"Because I thought she had changed."
I looked down at my hands.
"She hadn't."
"No," Evelyn admitted.
"She hadn't."
Isaiah began pacing.
"That means she knew exactly what she was doing."
Evelyn nodded.
"And if she forged Nia's signature, this is much worse than what happened before."
I looked at the photograph again.
The man in the gray suit.
The mysterious company.
The missing money.
"We need to find out who that man is."
Jasmine, who had been quietly sitting near the door, stepped forward.
"Can I see the picture?"
I handed her my phone.
She enlarged the image.
Then she frowned.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Look at the folder."
She zoomed closer.
Near the bottom of the document was a small printed logo.
A silver crown.
And beneath it, two letters.
SC.
"Sterling Consulting," Isaiah whispered.
Jasmine looked at him.
"Is that one of the companies that received money?"
"Yes."
She studied the man's face again.
"I think I've seen him online."
She began searching.
Within minutes, she found a professional profile.
The man's name was Daniel Sterling.
He described himself as an event investor and private business consultant.
But the profile was strangely empty.
No recent projects.
No client reviews.
Only a polished photograph and vague promises about helping businesses grow.
Jasmine searched his name with Vanessa's.
Nothing.
Then she searched the company.
The results were worse.
Sterling Event Consulting had been registered only four months earlier.
And its registered office was a virtual business address.
Isaiah clenched his jaw.
"She created a fake vendor."
"Maybe," Jasmine said. "But we need proof."
Evelyn stood.
"Then we'll get it."
I looked at her.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to speak to an attorney."
Isaiah shook his head.
"First, we're going to the police."
I agreed.
I didn't want another private family conversation.
I didn't want another promise.
I wanted someone held accountable.
But before we could leave, my phone rang.
Vanessa.
Her name appeared on the screen.
We all stared at it.
Isaiah reached for the phone.
"Don't answer."
I hesitated.
Then I pressed the speaker button.
"Hello?"
Vanessa sounded different.
Less confident.
"Nia, we need to talk."
I looked at Isaiah.
"About what?"
"Everything."
"Then start with the seventy thousand dollars missing from our wedding account."
There was silence.
A long silence.
Then she whispered.
"Who told you?"
My blood turned cold.
"So it's true?"
"Nia, listen to me."
"Did you steal our money?"
"No. It's complicated."
"Then explain."
She took a shaky breath.
"I was going to put it back."
Isaiah closed his eyes.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"You were going to put it back?"
"Yes."
"With what money?"
She didn't answer.
I felt anger rising through my chest.
"You ruined my engagement party to distract us from the account, didn't you?"
"No!"
"Vanessa."
"Fine! I needed time!"
The confession hit me hard.
"Time for what?"
"To fix something."
"What?"
Her voice became desperate.
"Nia, if you love Isaiah, you'll keep this inside the family."
I looked at him.
His face was rigid.
"That's not happening."
Vanessa began crying.
"You don't understand. Daniel is dangerous."
I leaned forward.
"Daniel Sterling?"
She went silent.
Then she whispered.
"How do you know that name?"
"Someone sent me a photograph."
I heard a sharp breath.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Nia, you have to tell me."
"Why?"
"Because if Daniel finds out someone is talking, things could get worse."
Isaiah finally spoke.
"Vanessa."
She gasped.
"Isaiah?"
"We've seen the account."
"Please..."
"We've seen the forged signature."
She began sobbing.
"Isaiah, I can explain."
"Then explain it to the police."
She stopped crying.
For several seconds, I heard only her breathing.
Then she spoke in a cold voice.
"If you do that, you'll destroy this family."
Isaiah looked at Evelyn.
Then back at the phone.
"No, Vanessa."
His voice was steady.
"You already did."
He ended the call.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Jasmine's phone buzzed.
She looked down.
Her face changed.
"Nia..."
"What?"
She slowly turned the screen toward me.
A video was spreading online.
Someone at the party had posted the moment the chocolate fountain struck me.
The caption read:
"BRIDE-TO-BE HAS A MELTDOWN AFTER ACCIDENT AT LUXURY PARTY."
I watched myself screaming.
Crying.
Standing in my ruined dress.
But the video had been cut.
It didn't show Vanessa pushing the fountain.
It didn't show Evelyn exposing her.
It made me look hysterical.
Within minutes, strangers were insulting me.
Calling me spoiled.
Calling me dramatic.
Then another notification appeared.
A comment from an account using Vanessa's photograph.
"Some women will do anything for attention."
My hands began trembling.
She had stolen our money.
Destroyed my dress.
And now she was trying to destroy my reputation.
Isaiah took the phone gently from my hands.
"She's not getting away with this."
But as he said those words, another message arrived from the unknown number.
"Daniel knows you're investigating. Don't meet Vanessa alone."
I looked at the warning.
May you like
Then at the beautiful engagement ring on my finger.
For the first time since Isaiah had proposed, I wondered whether marrying into his family would cost me everything.
