“Mrs. Emerson,” he said, “I was told the transfer was complete.”
“By whom?” Judith asked.
Martin looked at Amanda.
She stared back at him with a warning so sharp that he flinched.
Daniel pressed a button on the recorder.
Amanda’s voice filled the ballroom.
“Put the contract in front of him after the ceremony. He’ll sign anything once the guests are gone.”
A second voice, Martin’s, answered faintly, “What if Judith finds out?”
“Judith won’t be here long enough to matter.”
The recording stopped.
No one moved.
The words seemed to remain suspended in the air, colder than the rain outside.
Jacob turned toward Amanda slowly. “Where did you get that?”
“Edited,” she said immediately. “It’s edited.”
Daniel removed another device from his case. “The original file is stored with three separate timestamps and a duplicate on the county investigator’s server.”
Amanda’s eyes snapped toward the doors.
Two uniformed investigators stood just beyond the threshold.
They had been waiting in the corridor.
One of them held up a warrant.
The guests parted without being asked.
Jacob looked at Judith. His eyes were wet now, but she did not move toward him.
“Mom,” he said.
She held the letter against her chest.
“Not yet.”
The investigator approached Amanda. “Amanda Rusk, we need to ask you some questions regarding document fraud, attempted transfer of property, and financial theft.”
Amanda’s face changed.
The polished bride disappeared. Beneath the makeup and carefully arranged hair was a woman cornered by her own reflection.
“You can’t do this to me,” she said.
The investigator glanced at the wedding decorations, the imported wine, the flowers, and the frightened guests.
“No,” he said. “You did this to yourself.”
