I lifted my bouquet, now missing its secret.
“The flash drive is a copy,” I said. “The originals are with the district attorney, the SEC, and every independent director at ValeTech.”
Caleb whispered, “Amelia.”
There it was.
Not love. Calculation.
A man realizing the door had locked behind him.
Part 3
The pastor stepped back from the altar as if it had caught fire.
Detective Harris walked straight toward Caleb.
“Caleb Whitmore, you are under arrest for assault, extortion, conspiracy to commit fraud, and witness intimidation.”
The church turned into a storm.
Caleb jerked backward. “This is insane. She’s lying.”
I touched my lip. “Then smile for the cameras.”
Half the congregation was already filming.
His mother stepped between him and the detective. “You will not touch my son.”
Detective Harris looked unimpressed. “Ma’am, move.”
Evelyn lifted her chin. “Do you know who I am?”
Nia opened the leather folder.
“We do. Evelyn Whitmore, you are also named in the warrant.”
For the first time that day, Evelyn looked human.
Small.
Old.
Furious.
The officers moved in.
Caleb fought when they took his wrists. Not bravely. Not dramatically. He twisted like a spoiled child resisting consequences. His cufflinks flashed beneath the church lights as cold metal closed around his skin.
“You set me up!” he shouted.
I walked closer, slowly enough for him to see I was not trembling.
“No, Caleb. You walked in exactly as yourself. I just turned on the lights.”
His face reddened. “You’ll regret this. No one will marry you after this.”
I smiled then.
It hurt my lip, but it was worth it.
“I was never afraid of being unmarried. I was afraid of being owned.”
Evelyn was cuffed beside him, diamonds shaking at her throat.
Her eyes burned into mine. “Your father would be ashamed.”
That struck deeper than the slap.
For half a second, the church disappeared, and I was twelve again, hiding beneath my father’s desk while he worked late, listening as he told me that power without decency was only hunger in a suit.
I stepped close to Evelyn.
