Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: The Accusation
The disaster happened twelve minutes before the ceremony.Emily had just returned to the side of the hall when a loud crash echoed from the wedding hallway.Guests turned their heads.A flower display had fallen. Glass decorations lay across the floor. A ribbon from the altar arrangement had been torn. The small velvet ring box sat open near the mess.And Lily was crying.Emily ran.“Lily!”Her daughter stood near the wall, shaking. One hand was pressed to her forehead. In the other hand, she held a torn ribbon.Ryan rushed in from the opposite side, breathing hard as if he had been running.“What did she do?” Margaret cried.Lily sobbed. “I didn’t—”Ryan pointed at her.“She ruined my wedding!”The words hit the hallway like a slap.Guests began gathering. Olivia stepped out in her wedding gown, confused and alarmed.Ryan picked up the ring box and held it up.“The rings are gone,” he said. “And look at this mess.”Emily dropped to her knees and pulled Lily into her arms.“My daughter wouldn’t do that.”Ryan laughed sharply. “You always say that. She’s just like you. Never responsible.”Lily cried harder.Margaret looked embarrassed, but not for Lily.For the wedding.“Emily,” she said through clenched teeth, “apologize to your brother.”Emily looked up slowly.“No.”The hallway went quiet.Emily held Lily closer.“If my daughter says she didn’t do it,” she said, “then I believe her.”Ryan’s face hardened.And for a second, Emily saw the same look he had given her in the corridor.The look of someone who needed her silent.
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