“Exactly what it says.”

Chapter 7 — The Ceremony That Wasn’t

The ceremony began at four o’clock. Three hundred guests filled the ballroom beneath crystal chandeliers and arrangements of white orchids. My parents took the front row.

Jason waited at the altar in a tailored black tuxedo, wearing the controlled expression of a man who believed the worst danger had already passed. Terrence sat beside his parents in the second row.

Near the rear doors, Elias stood with two other attorneys and the event director.

I entered alone. Dad had expected to escort me down the aisle; at noon, I had changed that detail. Confusion moved through the room when the doors opened and no one appeared beside me.

I walked forward slowly, the hem of my dress moving across the white runner. Guests raised their phones. Mom’s smile stayed fixed, though her eyes narrowed.