Chapter 1 - THE WEDDING THAT STOPPED
Rebecca was less than twenty feet away when I raised my hand.
The organist stopped playing.
Nearly two hundred guests turned toward me.
Rebecca froze halfway down the aisle.
Her father stood beside her, his expression immediately tightening.
Emily remained wrapped around my neck.
Her small body was trembling.
“Daniel?” Rebecca asked.
That was the first time anyone in the chapel heard my name spoken that day.
I stood slowly, keeping one arm around my daughter.
Rebecca recovered her smile.
It was the polished smile she used whenever photographers were nearby.
“We can talk after the ceremony,” she said softly.
“No.”
The word carried farther than I expected.
A murmur moved through the pews.
Rebecca glanced toward the priest.
Then toward my mother.
Then back at me.
“Daniel, everyone is waiting.”
I reached into my jacket and removed the crumpled note.
Her face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
“Did you write this?”
Rebecca stared at the paper.
“I don’t know what that is.”
Emily buried her face against my shoulder.
I opened the note.
“After the wedding, you will live somewhere better suited for children like you.”
The chapel became completely silent.
Rebecca’s father took one step forward.
“Daniel, perhaps this is not the place.”
I ignored him.
I continued reading.
“Do not upset your father.”
My voice became harder.
“He has already agreed.”
Rebecca finally dropped the smile.
“Emily misunderstood.”
I looked at my daughter.
“Did Rebecca give you this?”
Emily nodded.
Rebecca immediately shook her head.
“She is seven years old, Daniel.”
I stared at her.
“What exactly is that supposed to mean?”
“It means children misunderstand adult conversations.”
Emily suddenly lifted her head.
“She put it in my flower basket.”
Rebecca’s eyes flashed toward her.
“Emily.”
The sharpness in her voice made my daughter flinch.
Something inside me went cold.
I stepped farther away from Rebecca.
“Don’t speak to her like that.”
Rebecca inhaled slowly.
Then she lowered her voice.
“Daniel, I was going to explain everything after we were married.”
“Explain what?”
Her father stepped forward again.
“Son, emotions are high.”
“I’m not your son.”
His face hardened.
Rebecca looked around at the guests.
She knew everyone was watching.
She also knew the wedding photographer was standing near the front.
“Please,” she whispered.
I held up the note.
“Where were you sending my daughter?”
Rebecca said nothing.
That silence answered more than any denial could have.
I looked toward the priest.
“There will be no wedding today.”
Gasps filled the chapel.
Rebecca stared at me as if she had misheard.
“What?”
“I said the wedding is over.”
Her face went white.
“You cannot do this.”
“I just did.”
“You’re humiliating me in front of everyone.”
I looked at Emily.
My daughter was still crying.
“You terrified a seven-year-old ten minutes before her father’s wedding.”
Rebecca stepped toward me.
“This is about helping her.”
I moved Emily farther from her reach.
“Helping her how?”
Rebecca’s father suddenly grabbed her arm.
“Not here.”
That was when I noticed something.
He was not confused.
He was afraid.
I looked between them.
“You knew.”
Neither answered.
My younger brother, Nathan, stood from the second row.
“Daniel?”
I handed Emily to him.
“Take her to Mom.”
Emily immediately grabbed my jacket.
“No, Daddy.”
I crouched in front of her.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
I kissed her forehead.
Then I stood.
Rebecca’s maid of honor, Melissa, was quietly backing toward the side door.
I noticed a large envelope under her arm.
“Melissa.”
She stopped.
Everyone looked at her.
“What’s in the envelope?”
Her face drained of color.
Rebecca spun around.
“Go.”
Melissa reached for the door.
Nathan moved first.
He stepped between her and the exit.
“Maybe you should answer him.”
Melissa looked at Rebecca.
Rebecca said nothing.
I walked toward her.
“Give me the envelope.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because Rebecca told me not to.”
The chapel erupted in whispers.
Rebecca’s father cursed under his breath.
Melissa’s hands began shaking.
Then she handed it to me.
Inside were several documents.
The first page carried the logo of a private residential facility.
Hawthorne Behavioral Academy.
The second line made my stomach drop.
Student: Emily Carter.
Arrival date:
Monday, 8:00 A.M.
Two days after my wedding.
And at the bottom of the page was a signature.
My signature.
Except I had never signed it.
I slowly looked at Rebecca.
She wasn’t looking at me anymore.
May you like
She was staring at the chapel doors.
As if she had just realized she might need to run.
