Chapter 4 - A Bride’s Decision
Claire wanted to remain with Adrian until paramedics arrived.
Daniel wanted to search every floor himself.
Julian solved the argument by escaping.
During the struggle with Harris, he slipped through a side corridor and used an employee elevator. Hotel cameras briefly captured him entering the lobby, but he vanished among arriving guests.
Harris was restrained by his own guards.
Adrian remained unconscious.
The ambulance crew carried him through a service exit to avoid the reporters outside. Claire provided instructions while keeping her wedding gown lifted above the bloody water covering the floor.
As the stretcher disappeared, Daniel stood motionless beside the wall.
“My best friend helped torture him.”
Claire touched his arm.
“You didn’t know.”
“Didn’t I?”
“You trusted him.”
“I ignored everything that threatened the life I wanted.”
A wedding coordinator approached them.
Her expression was carefully blank.
“Mr. Mercer, Doctor Whitmore, the guests have been told there was a minor electrical issue. The ceremony can begin whenever you are ready.”
Claire looked at her bloodstained hands.
Daniel laughed once, without humor.
“Cancel it.”
“No,” Claire said.
He stared at her.
She did not know exactly when the decision had formed. Perhaps when she saw fear in Noah’s eyes. Perhaps when Adrian looked at her before saying the records had already been delivered. Perhaps when Julian warned that what Noah knew was dangerous.
“If we cancel,” she said, “everyone leaves.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“We keep the ballroom full.”
“With our wedding?”
“With witnesses.”
Daniel understood.
“Theodore will be there. The board will be there. Julian may return if he thinks the ceremony is continuing.”
“And Vanessa may bring Noah through the hotel to reach an exit.”
Daniel looked toward the elevator.
“You want to use our wedding as a trap.”
“I want Noah to know exactly where to find people who will protect him.”
The coordinator appeared horrified.
Claire turned to her.
“Tell the guests the ceremony begins in twenty minutes.”
Emily found Claire in the bridal suite changing into an identical backup gown. Wedding planners often prepared for spilled wine or torn fabric. None had anticipated blood.
Claire told her sister only what was necessary.
“A boy is in danger. A man was attacked. Daniel’s friend may be involved.”
Emily stared at her.
“And you are still getting married?”
“I don’t know.”
“Claire.”
“I need everyone to believe I am.”
Emily helped fasten the back of the dress.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Stay near the west ballroom exit. Watch for Noah, Vanessa, or Julian. Do not confront them. Call the police.”
“They’re already coming.”
“Then call again.”
Daniel entered wearing his black tuxedo. He had washed the blood from his hands, but a red line remained beneath one fingernail.
“I spoke to the hospital,” he said. “Adrian is in surgery.”
“And Noah?”
“No confirmed sighting.”
“Theodore?”
“In the ballroom.”
Claire put the original bronze charm into Daniel’s hand.
“This came from Vanessa’s bag.”
“No. It didn’t.”
She looked at him.
Daniel turned it over.
Near the base was an engraved letter.
M.
“This belonged to my mother,” he said.
Claire had never met Margaret Mercer. She died when Daniel was twelve after falling from a horse at the family estate.
“Why would Vanessa have it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was your mother connected to Adrian?”
“She funded a children’s shelter before she died. Adrian’s mother worked there.”
A knock interrupted them.
Theodore Mercer entered without waiting.
He was sixty-eight, tall and silver-haired, wearing a perfectly tailored tuxedo. The Mercer name had opened governments, banks, and palaces to him. Yet he looked almost frightened when he saw the charm.
“Where did you get that?”
Daniel closed his fist.
“Vanessa.”
Theodore locked the door.
“You must leave the hotel.”
“Not without Noah.”
“You do not understand what you are facing.”
“Then explain it.”
Theodore’s attention shifted to Claire.
“This does not concern you.”
“A wounded man collapsed in front of me. A child is missing inside the hotel where I am supposed to marry your son. It concerns me.”
For the first time, Theodore’s expression softened.
“You remind me of your father.”
“My father believed in evidence.”
“Your father died because of evidence.”
Claire stopped breathing.
Daniel stepped between them.
“What did you say?”
May you like
Theodore looked at the charm in his son’s hand.
“Your mother did not die in a riding accident.”
