Chapter 4 - MY BRIDE’S SECRET
I looked at my wife.
“Natalie?”
She turned pale.
My father actually smiled.
There it was.
A new target.
“Interesting.”
Natalie glared at him.
“Don’t.”
I stepped closer.
“You put the photo on my phone?”
She didn’t answer.
“Natalie.”
“Yes.”
The word hit harder than I expected.
Evelyn stared at her.
“You knew about me?”
Natalie nodded.
“For three weeks.”
“What?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Three weeks.
We had eaten breakfast together.
Chosen wedding songs.
Practiced our first dance.
She had slept beside me every night.
And she knew my mother was alive.
I asked, “How?”
Natalie took a shaky breath.
“Your father asked me to sign a prenuptial amendment.”
My father stiffened.
“What amendment?”
She ignored him.
“There was a box of old family documents in his office. He left me alone for maybe ten minutes.”
My father said, “You went through my files?”
“Yes.”
“Those were private.”
“So was Daniel’s childhood.”
My father shut his mouth.
Natalie looked at me.
“I found the custody paperwork. Your mother’s name was everywhere.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“The night we had dinner at Bellamy’s. I asked you about your mother.”
I remembered.
I had told her there was nothing to discuss.
My mother died when I was six.
End of story.
Natalie swallowed.
“You got upset just hearing the subject.”
“So you kept lying?”
“I didn’t know what was true.”
Evelyn asked, “How did you find me?”
Natalie glanced toward my father.
“There was an address in an old investigator’s report.”
My father’s face drained.
“Investigator?”
Natalie nodded.
“Someone had been monitoring Evelyn for years.”
I looked at him.
“You were still tracking her?”
“It was for security.”
Evelyn laughed.
“You mean control.”
Natalie continued.
“I drove to the address.”
My chest tightened.
“You met her.”
“Yes.”
“Behind my back.”
Her eyes filled.
“Yes.”
I walked away.
I didn’t know who I could trust anymore.
My father had stolen my mother.
My mother had appeared on my wedding day carrying thirty years of secrets.
And my wife had secretly arranged the whole collision.
“You planned today?”
Natalie shook her head.
“Not like this.”
Evelyn said, “That’s true.”
I turned.
“She wanted me to meet you privately after the wedding.”
Natalie nodded.
“But last night your father found out someone had accessed the old files.”
My father’s eyes sharpened.
“How?”
“You had a security alert sent to your phone.”
She looked at me.
“I panicked.”
“So you planted the photo.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid your father would get to you first.”
I laughed bitterly.
“He already did. Thirty years ago.”
Nobody had an answer to that.
I walked toward the window.
Outside, guests were still waiting.
A string quartet played somewhere in the courtyard, desperately pretending this was still a wedding.
Natalie came closer.
“I’m sorry.”
“You should’ve told me.”
“I know.”
“You let me stand at the altar without knowing any of this.”
“I was scared you’d call off the wedding.”
I looked at her.
That hurt.
“So you protected the wedding instead of protecting me?”
“No.”
“That’s exactly what you did.”
She flinched.
Before she could answer, Evelyn spoke.
“There’s something else.”
Everyone looked at her.
She was staring at Natalie.
“You didn’t tell him?”
Natalie went still.
My pulse jumped.
“Tell me what?”
“Natalie…”
“What?”
My wife closed her eyes.
Evelyn reached into her coat and removed a photograph.
Not the childhood picture.
A newer one.
It showed my father walking into a hotel.
Beside him was a man I recognized.
Victor Hale.
My father’s longtime attorney.
They were meeting a third person.
A woman.
I stared at the image.
“Who is she?”
Evelyn answered.
“The social worker who handled your custody case.”
I looked closer.
The photograph had been taken six weeks ago.
“What does this have to do with Natalie?”
Natalie whispered, “Because your father wasn’t just worried you’d find out about your mother.”
She looked at me.
“He was trying to make sure the custody file disappeared before the wedding.”
My father shouted, “That is enough!”
Ethan moved between us.
I pointed at Natalie.
“Why?”
Her eyes met mine.
“Because there’s something in that file worse than the fake psychiatric report.”
My skin went cold.
“What?”
She hesitated.
Then Evelyn answered for her.
“The accident that damaged your memory?”
I swallowed.
“Yes?”
May you like
Her voice dropped.
“It wasn’t an accident.”
