Chapter 15 - The Price of a Bride
The email chain was short.
That made it worse.
Derek had written that my parents intended to give me $45,000 after the wedding.
Brenda replied.
Good.
Secure it before she deposits it separately.
Derek wrote.
She trusts me.
Brenda's final response read.
They all do at first.
I stared at that sentence.
Allison stood behind me.
Her face had gone completely still.
Detective Martinez photographed the screen.
"Who are 'they'?"
Nobody needed to answer.
Five women's names existed in the upstairs files.
Maybe more.
The detective requested access to the computer.
Derek refused.
Then an attorney arrived.
His family's attorney.
Within fifteen minutes, everyone had stopped talking.
The mansion became strangely quiet.
I sat in the library with Allison and Emma.
For the first time all morning, nobody was chasing me.
My hands began shaking.
Allison noticed.
"It happens when the adrenaline drops."
I looked at her.
"How did you survive this?"
She smiled sadly.
"Badly at first."
"Then better."
Emma sat across from us.
"I'm sorry."
Allison turned toward her.
"You were twenty."
"I should have done more."
"You left the door unlocked."
"I was afraid."
"So was I."
Something passed between them that had nothing to do with forgiveness being easy.
It wasn't.
But sometimes forgiveness begins when people finally tell the truth.
My phone rang.
Dad.
I stared at his name.
I hadn't called my parents yet.
I answered.
"Hey."
"Chloe?"
The panic in his voice broke me.
"Are you okay?"
I tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
My father knew instantly.
"Where are you?"
"At Derek's house."
"I'm coming."
"Dad."
"What happened?"
I looked at the wedding ring on my finger.
Then I slid it off.
"My marriage lasted fourteen hours."
Silence.
Then my father said something I will remember for the rest of my life.
"No."
"It lasted as long as it took you to learn the truth."
"You don't owe a lie another minute."
I closed my eyes.
A tear finally escaped.
The first one Derek had managed to get from me all day.
But he wasn't the reason.
Relief was.
After the call, I placed the ring on the library table.
Allison looked at it.
"Keep it."
"Why?"
"Evidence."
I almost laughed.
Of course.
Even the ring had become evidence.
Then Detective Martinez returned.
"We found something in the basement."
Her expression told me it wasn't good.
"What?"
"A locked storage room."
My stomach tightened.
"What's inside?"
She looked toward Allison.
May you like
"Boxes."
"One for each woman."
