Chapter 5 - THE HOSPITAL
I left the hotel in an ambulance with Sophie.
My evening gown was stained.
Her flower-girl dress was wrinkled and torn near the shoulder.
She had stopped crying.
That frightened me more than the tears had.
Children should not become quiet after something like that.
They should ask questions.
They should complain.
They should cry.
Sophie simply watched the city lights through the ambulance window.
At the hospital, doctors examined her and ordered imaging.
Thankfully, the injury was not life-threatening.
She had a concussion and a cut that needed treatment.
The doctor told me to watch closely for headaches, dizziness, confusion, or vomiting.
Sophie listened to every word.
When the doctor left, she looked at me.
“Am I still the flower girl?”
My throat tightened.
“No, sweetheart.”
“Because I ruined the wedding?”
I sat beside her.
“You did not ruin anything.”
“Grandpa said I humiliated the family.”
“He was wrong.”
“But everybody heard Uncle Preston say I stole his phone.”
“And everybody will learn he lied.”
She thought about that.
“What if they believe him anyway?”
There are questions children ask that reveal exactly how deeply adults have failed them.
That was one of those questions.
I took her hand.
“Then we stop trying to convince those people.”
Her eyes filled.
“Even Grandma?”
The answer hurt.
“Even Grandma.”
Someone knocked on the door.
Claire entered.
She had changed out of her wedding dress.
She wore gray hotel sweatpants, a white T-shirt, and no makeup.
Her hair was still pinned from the ceremony.
She looked exhausted.
Sophie stared at her.
“I’m sorry.”
Claire froze.
“For what?”
“Your wedding.”
Claire crossed the room immediately.
She knelt beside the hospital bed.
“Sophie, look at me.”
Sophie did.
“You have absolutely nothing to apologize for.”
“But Uncle Preston—”
“Your uncle did something terrible.”
Claire’s voice cracked.
“He did it to you.”
She wiped a tear from her cheek.
“And I am so sorry I didn’t know what kind of man I was marrying.”
Sophie looked at her carefully.
“Are you still married?”
Claire almost smiled.
“Technically, yes.”
Then she looked at me.
“But not for long.”
She handed me an envelope.
“What is this?”
“Something Preston left in the bridal suite.”
Inside were photocopies of financial statements.
One company name immediately caught my attention.
PNR EVENTS LLC.
I had seen that name before.
It had received $147,000 from Whitman Architectural Supply over eighteen months.
Claire sat down.
“Preston told me PNR was a wedding planning company.”
I looked at her.
“It isn’t.”
“I know.”
She swallowed.
“Because the address belongs to a mailbox store.”
My pulse quickened.
Claire continued.
“And the bank account attached to it is in Preston’s name.”
There it was.
The missing piece.
The company payments.
The fake vendor.
The unexplained transfers.
May you like
Preston had not framed Sophie because he was angry.
He had framed her because he was afraid.
