Chapter 10 - THE WEDDING ENDED IN SIRENS
Preston shoved an officer into a table.
Glasses shattered.
Guests screamed.
He sprinted through the ballroom doors.
Ruiz chased him.
So did two officers.
I stayed with Sophie.
For once, that was the only choice that mattered.
Vanessa stood frozen near the cake.
Her wedding bouquet lay on the floor.
Mom approached Sophie.
“Sweetheart…”
Sophie moved behind me.
Mom stopped.
That small movement destroyed her.
She covered her face.
I didn’t comfort her.
Not yet.
Outside, sirens multiplied.
A few guests rushed toward the windows.
Someone yelled that Preston was in the parking lot.
Then a loud crash echoed from outside.
Vanessa jumped.
Five minutes later, Ruiz returned.
“Is he alive?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes.”
She exhaled.
“He tried to take a car from valet. He hit a concrete post.”
Of course he did.
Even cornered, Preston still believed the world belonged to him.
Ruiz approached me.
“We’re detaining him.”
“For Daniel?”
“Right now, for assaulting an officer, attempted vehicle theft, obstruction, and several other things.”
“What about the crash?”
“We’re reopening everything.”
I looked at the USB drive.
“And that?”
“Assuming it still works, it may answer some questions.”
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
“I know the password.”
Ruiz turned.
“What password?”
“Preston uses the same encryption password for company files.”
“Why?”
She gave a hollow laugh.
“Because apparently the man is careful enough to commit crimes but not careful enough to remember two passwords.”
Even I almost smiled.
Almost.
The drive was taken upstairs to a secure hotel office.
Police allowed Vanessa, Dad, and me to watch because of what we might need to identify.
Sophie stayed downstairs with a female officer.
I hated leaving her.
But she squeezed my hand.
“Go find out about Daddy.”
So I did.
The drive opened.
Folders filled the screen.
Invoices.
Bank statements.
Audio recordings.
Photos.
Then one video file.
Date: October 14.
Three years earlier.
The night Daniel died.
My hands went numb.
Ruiz clicked it.
The video was dark.
Dashboard camera.
Preston’s voice came through the speakers.
“Stay behind him.”
Then another man answered.
“I’m not hitting him.”
I recognized the voice from court.
Thomas Harris.
Preston said, “I didn’t say hit him.”
The car ahead belonged to Daniel.
Harris accelerated.
My heart stopped.
May you like
Then Preston said seven words that changed my life forever.
“Just force him off the damn road.”
