JUST A JOKE

Evelyn did not react immediately.

For one suspended moment, she appeared not to understand the accusation.

Then she smiled.

It was not a warm smile.

It was the controlled expression she had used in business meetings whenever someone presented a problem she believed she could dismiss.

“That is impossible.”

Adrian removed a copy of the order from his jacket.

“I hoped it was.”

Detective Ellis took the document before Evelyn could reach for it.

Evelyn turned toward Paige.

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t sign your name.”

“You must have.”

“Why would I change artificial flowers to real ones?”

“To blame me.”

Paige stared at her mother in disbelief.

Claire watched them from the bed.

The speed with which they turned against each other frightened her more than the accusation itself.

Daniel moved beside Detective Ellis and examined the document without touching it.

The second order had been submitted electronically through the florist’s private client system. Beneath the changes was a typed name.

Evelyn Bennett.

An image of her signature appeared below it.

“That signature was copied,” Evelyn said.

“From where?” Ellis asked.

“My office. Hundreds of documents contain it.”

“Did you know Paige was replacing the bouquet?”

“No.”

Paige laughed again.

“You told me to.”

Evelyn’s face tightened.

“Be careful.”

“You said if Claire saw lilies in Daniel’s wedding flowers, she would finally realize he didn’t care enough to protect her.”

“I never told you to put anything near your sister.”

“You gave me the florist password.”

Claire looked at her mother.

Evelyn’s gaze moved away.

Daniel stepped forward.

“Why did you have the florist password?”

“I was helping with the wedding.”

“You refused to help with the wedding.”

“I was still paying for parts of it.”

“No,” Claire said. “Daniel and I paid for everything.”

Evelyn turned toward her.

“I paid the original deposit before you changed venues.”

“That was returned.”

“I maintained access.”

The explanation sounded weak because it was weak.

Detective Ellis asked everyone except Claire and Daniel to leave the room. Evelyn objected, but hospital security moved closer, and she finally walked out with Paige.

Adrian remained long enough to explain what the florist had discovered.

The original bouquet contained roses, peonies, and artificial white accents.

At 8:12 that morning, Paige used Adrian’s staff account to request the artificial accents be replaced with realistic artificial lilies.

At 8:55, a second message changed those lilies to fresh Casa Blanca lilies.

The florist employee handling the order had objected because the original file included a medical warning.

The second sender replied that the allergy warning had been entered by mistake.

At 9:07, the medical warning vanished from the event profile.

At 9:20, a private courier collected the bouquet.

It never traveled with the other wedding flowers.

“Who was the courier?” Daniel asked.

“A temporary driver,” Adrian said. “The florist booked him through an application.”

“Name?”

“Isaac Rowe.”

“Has anyone spoken to him?”

“The police are trying.”

Claire looked at Adrian.

“What was on the back of the order?”

Adrian hesitated.

“You saw it,” she said.

He nodded.

“There was a note instructing the florist not to show you the bouquet.”

“And the second signature?”

“Evelyn’s.”

“That isn’t all.”

Adrian looked surprised.

Claire had inherited her grandmother’s ability to hear omissions.

“What else was written?”

Adrian glanced at Daniel.

Daniel gave a small nod.

Adrian unfolded another photograph.

Beneath Evelyn’s signature was a line written in blue ink.

Make certain the bride carries it until the vows begin.

Claire read the sentence twice.

“Whoever wrote that knew exactly how long exposure would take to affect me.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened.

Adrian looked miserable.

“I should have checked the bouquet personally.”

“You did check it,” Claire said. “Someone created an entire second delivery to avoid you.”

“I hired Paige.”

“That isn’t the same as causing this.”

Adrian looked toward the door.

“She has made reckless decisions before. I knew she was obsessed with creating dramatic content for social media. I knew she crossed boundaries.”

“What kind of boundaries?”

“Staging arguments at events. Moving place cards to create confrontations. Telling guests false information so she could record their reactions.”

Daniel stared at him.

“And you kept her employed?”

“She promised it had stopped.”

Claire remembered Paige encouraging her to allow a wedding documentary.

She remembered Paige asking where the private cameras would be placed.

She remembered Paige insisting the ceremony needed a moment no one would forget.

“Was she recording for herself?” Claire asked.

Adrian shook his head.

“She told our video team to keep every camera focused on you from the moment you entered the aisle.”

Daniel’s expression changed.

“She expected something to happen.”

Before Adrian could reply, Detective Ellis returned.

“We have located Isaac Rowe’s vehicle,” she said.

“Where is he?” Claire asked.

“The car was abandoned near the railway station.”

“Was the bouquet in it?”

“No.”

“Anything else?”

Ellis placed a transparent evidence bag on the table beside the bed.

Inside was a small lavender thread.

It matched Paige’s dress.

“There was fabric caught in the rear door,” Ellis said.

Paige had denied meeting the courier.

But she had been inside his car.

Claire looked toward the corridor, where her sister’s shadow was visible through the narrow window.

“Bring her back.”

Daniel touched Claire’s shoulder.

“You need rest.”

“I need the truth.”

Paige entered without Evelyn.

Her eyes moved immediately to the evidence bag.

“I can explain.”

Detective Ellis closed the door.

“Start with why your dress was inside the courier’s car.”

“I met him at the venue entrance.”

“You told us you never met the person who delivered the bouquet.”

“I thought you meant the person who planned everything.”

“What happened in the car?”

“He gave me the flowers.”

“Did you see the lilies?”

“No. They were wrapped.”

“Did you inspect them?”

“No.”

“Did he tell you they were artificial?”

“He said everything had been handled.”

“What did you give him?”

Paige looked at Claire.

“Nothing.”

Ellis opened another evidence bag.

Inside was a silver bracelet.

Claire recognized it.

It had belonged to their grandmother.

Paige wore it only on important occasions.

“This was found beneath the driver’s seat,” Ellis said.

Paige touched her bare wrist.

“He must have taken it.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

Claire studied her.

“You gave it to him as payment.”

“No.”

“Then why was it in his car?”

Paige’s voice rose.

“Because he grabbed my wrist.”

Daniel took one step forward, but Claire held up a hand.

“Why would he grab you?”

“I told him I wanted to cancel.”

Claire’s pulse quickened.

“Cancel what?”

“The bouquet change.”

“When?”

“Right before the ceremony.”

“Why?”

Paige looked toward the floor.

“Because I received another message.”

“What did it say?”

Paige’s shoulders began to shake.

She reached slowly into the pocket hidden inside her dress and removed a folded sheet of paper.

“I printed it because I was scared they would delete it from my phone.”

Detective Ellis took the paper.

The message contained only one sentence.

After Claire collapses, make sure Daniel touches the bouquet.

Daniel read it over the detective’s shoulder.

Claire felt a new kind of fear.

“This wasn’t only about me,” she said.

Paige nodded.

“The person told me Daniel would be blamed for ignoring your allergy. They said the police would find his fingerprints on the flowers and evidence that he changed your insurance.”

Daniel looked at Claire.

“The insurance documents were part of the setup.”

Paige began to cry.

“I thought it was supposed to embarrass him. Then I realized they were creating evidence.”

“Evidence of what?” Claire asked.