Chapter 6
Rachel agreed to meet us in Patricia's office the following morning.
She refused to meet anywhere else.
After Daniel visited my mother's house, I understood why.
I spent that evening with my mother.
Isaiah stayed nearby, checking the locks and helping her review the security camera footage from her front porch.
The camera had captured Daniel.
His face.
His car.
And the time he arrived.
We sent everything to Detective Harris.
My mother hugged me tightly afterward.
"I'm sorry this is happening, baby."
I buried my face against her shoulder.
"Mom, I brought this trouble to your door."
She pulled back.
"Don't you ever say that."
Her eyes were filled with tears.
"You trusted people who should have treated you with kindness. Their choices belong to them."
I wanted to believe her.
But guilt still pressed against my chest.
The next morning, Rachel arrived at the law office fifteen minutes early.
She was a nervous-looking woman in her thirties.
She carried a black laptop bag.
Her eyes kept drifting toward the windows.
Patricia invited her to sit.
"Rachel, thank you for coming."
Rachel nodded.
"I almost didn't."
I sat across from her.
"Why did you contact me?"
She looked down.
"Because I saw the video from your engagement party."
My stomach tightened.
"The one where the fountain hit me?"
"Yes."
She swallowed.
"Then I saw the unedited recording someone posted afterward."
Evelyn had released a short portion of her footage with my permission to correct the false accusations.
It showed Vanessa deliberately pushing the fountain.
Within hours, people who had mocked me were apologizing.
But Rachel's next words surprised me.
"When I saw Vanessa's face, I realized she was never planning to stop."
Isaiah leaned forward.
"What do you mean?"
Rachel opened her laptop.
"I started working for Daniel Sterling eight months ago."
She explained that Daniel presented himself as an event consultant.
He promised wealthy clients he could negotiate premium services for private celebrations.
But much of his business involved creating invoices through companies he controlled.
Sometimes the services existed.
Sometimes they didn't.
Patricia listened carefully.
"Did you know the invoices were fraudulent?"
Rachel's eyes filled with tears.
"Not at first."
She took a breath.
"I discovered it when I saw payments being routed through accounts under different company names."
I looked at her.
"And you stayed?"
She nodded slowly.
"I did. I was afraid of losing my job."
Patricia didn't soften her voice.
"You understand that your involvement may have legal consequences."
"Yes."
Rachel wiped her eyes.
"That's why I'm here."
She opened a folder.
Inside were copies of emails, invoices, and transaction records.
I saw our names immediately.
Nia Johnson.
Isaiah Carter.
The sight made me sick.
Rachel clicked on a document.
"Vanessa contacted Daniel four months ago."
Isaiah stared at the screen.
"She approached him?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Rachel hesitated.
"Because she had financial problems."
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Rachel continued.
"She owed money to several creditors. She believed she could use her role as your wedding coordinator to move funds temporarily."
I looked at the screen.
"Temporarily?"
"That's what she said."
Rachel opened an email.
Vanessa had written:
"I can control the vendor payments. They won't check until after the engagement party."
I stared at those words.
The engagement party.
She had planned this for months.
Rachel showed us another message.
Daniel had instructed Vanessa to submit inflated invoices.
Their agreement was simple.
He would route the funds through his companies.
She would receive a portion.
The rest would supposedly be returned after another investment paid out.
But that investment didn't exist.
"Daniel was never planning to return the money," Rachel said.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Because he was transferring it to accounts Vanessa couldn't access."
Isaiah leaned back.
His face looked empty.
"My own sister..."
He couldn't finish.
Then Rachel opened another document.
"This is the part you need to see."
It was a spreadsheet.
Several names appeared.
Different account numbers.
Different payment amounts.
And beside our names was a note.
"Phase Two."
My pulse quickened.
"What is that?"
Rachel looked at Evelyn.
"Daniel discovered that Mrs. Carter owns part of a commercial property through the family trust."
Evelyn straightened.
"That property belonged to my husband."
Rachel nodded.
"Vanessa told him the trust was going to be reorganized after the wedding."
Isaiah looked confused.
"That's not true."
Evelyn's expression changed.
"Actually, I had been considering changes."
Everyone looked at her.
She continued.
"I wanted to help Isaiah and Nia purchase their first home. I planned to discuss a distribution from the trust after the wedding."
My heart tightened.
She had never told me that.
Rachel leaned forward.
"Daniel believed Vanessa could convince you to sign a document giving her authority to manage part of that distribution."
Evelyn went pale.
"What document?"
Rachel turned the laptop.
A draft power of attorney appeared.
It named Vanessa as an authorized representative for certain financial transactions.
And at the bottom were spaces for signatures.
Evelyn's.
Isaiah's.
Mine.
I covered my mouth.
"She wanted control over our future home money?"
Rachel nodded.
"That's what the documents suggest."
Evelyn stared at the screen.
Then she whispered.
"She asked me to sign something last week."
Isaiah turned toward her.
"What?"
"She said it was a tax form related to the trust."
"Did you sign it?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"No. I told her my attorney needed to review it."
Rachel released a long breath.
"Then you may have stopped them."
I looked at the spreadsheet.
Our wedding account had been marked as Phase One.
The trust distribution was Phase Two.
I felt physically ill.
Vanessa hadn't simply wanted to embarrass me.
She had used our wedding as an opportunity to steal.
And when she feared someone might discover the missing funds, she pushed the fountain to distract everyone.
Then Rachel spoke again.
"There's one more thing."
She opened a final email.
It was from Vanessa to Daniel.
Sent the morning of our engagement party.
"I need Nia humiliated enough to cancel the wedding. If she leaves Isaiah, he won't question the money until it's too late."
My hands went numb.
I had spent months wondering why Vanessa hated me.
Now I knew.
She wasn't just jealous.
She had been trying to break my relationship apart to protect herself.
Isaiah reached for my hand.
I didn't pull away.
Rachel closed the laptop.
"I'll give the records to your attorney and the police."
Patricia nodded.
"We'll arrange that properly."
Then Rachel looked directly at me.
"I'm sorry, Nia."
I studied her tired face.
For a moment, I wanted to scream.
But I could see she was frightened.
And she had chosen to come forward.
"Tell the truth," I said.
"All of it."
She nodded.
"I will."
As we left the office, Isaiah's phone rang.
Vanessa.
He rejected the call.
A message appeared seconds later.
"Mom needs to stop talking to lawyers. Daniel says this can still be fixed."
Isaiah showed it to Patricia.
She photographed the screen.
Then she looked at us.
"Do not respond. Give this to Detective Harris."
I nodded.
Because Vanessa had finally made one thing clear.
May you like
She knew we were closing in.
And she was afraid.
