Chapter 3 - THE BRIDAL SUITE
Alonzo did not let Flora go upstairs alone.
He did not let Portia go at all.
Two guards remained with her in the ballroom while Alonzo, Flora, Cedric, Gideon, and the head of security took the private elevator to the third floor.
Maisie stayed downstairs with Flora's sister, Nora, who had finally pushed through the crowd after hearing what happened.
Flora hated leaving her daughter even for a minute.
She hated more that Portia had managed to turn a child's injury into an accusation against them.
The elevator doors opened onto a silent carpeted corridor.
The music from the ballroom was gone.
So were the whispers.
The quiet made everything feel worse.
The bridal suite was at the far end.
A white ribbon still hung from the brass handle.
Flora stopped.
"That ribbon was tied differently."
The head of security looked at her.
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
She pointed.
"The knot was on the left."
Now it hung on the right.
Alonzo pulled out his phone.
"Photograph it before we touch anything."
Gideon glanced at him.
"You seem remarkably prepared for this."
Alonzo did not look away from the door.
"I am learning quickly."
The guard photographed the ribbon and handle.
Then he unlocked the suite with a master key.
Flora expected chaos.
Instead, everything looked almost exactly as she had left it.
Her veil rested across the chaise.
Her shoes were beside the dressing table.
Two champagne flutes sat untouched near the window.
Maisie's little white cardigan was folded on the arm of the sofa.
The room smelled faintly of roses and hairspray.
Nothing screamed intrusion.
That frightened her.
The guard raised a handheld signal detector.
"The transmitting phone is here."
Cedric looked around.
"Where?"
The device chirped.
The guard followed the signal toward the dressing room.
Flora's stomach tightened.
Her handbag sat on the vanity.
The guard moved toward it.
"No."
Flora reached for Alonzo's arm.
"That bag has been downstairs with me all evening."
Alonzo frowned.
"Your black clutch?"
"Yes."
She pointed at the vanity.
"That is my travel tote."
The signal detector chirped faster.
The guard opened the tote.
Inside were makeup cases, a hairbrush, an emergency sewing kit, and a folded silk scarf.
He removed each item carefully.
The phone was underneath the scarf.
It was a cheap black prepaid device.
Flora had never seen it before.
Gideon exhaled.
"That is unfortunate."
Alonzo turned on him.
"You used that word downstairs."
Gideon gave him a flat look.
"Because this is unfortunate."
The security guard put on gloves and lifted the device.
The screen was still unlocked.
The most recent outgoing message was the one sent to Portia.
I HAVE THE THIRD PAGE. KEEP THEM BUSY.
Cedric's face hardened.
"Someone planted that in Flora's bag."
Gideon looked at him.
"Or Flora put it there."
Alonzo took a step toward him.
"Careful."
Gideon did not move.
"You asked me to tell the truth."
"Then start doing it."
Flora ignored them and looked around the room.
"If someone came in here, there has to be another sign."
The guard nodded.
"We will dust the phone and door."
"Not just the door."
Flora pointed to the windows.
One curtain was slightly open.
She remembered closing both before going downstairs.
Alonzo crossed the room.
The third-floor window overlooked the east terrace and service courtyard.
A narrow maintenance ledge ran beneath it.
Gideon shook his head.
"No one climbed three stories in formalwear."
The guard examined the latch.
"They didn't need to."
The latch had been deliberately left open.
Cedric looked toward Gideon.
"Who knew the suite assignment?"
"Half the staff."
"Who knew it would be empty during the ceremony?"
"Everyone attending the ceremony."
Flora felt the trap widening again.
There were too many possible suspects.
Alonzo looked at the phone.
"Can we see the other messages?"
The guard scrolled.
There were only three.
The first had been sent to a different unknown number two hours earlier.
ROOM READY.
The second was sent forty minutes before the vase broke.
SHE HAS THE CHILD WITH HER.
Flora's skin prickled.
Alonzo read it twice.
"She means Flora."
Cedric looked at the phone.
"And the child means Maisie."
Gideon's face finally lost its calm.
"If that is true, this was planned before the vase broke."
Flora looked at him.
"Of course it was."
"I am saying the phone may have been intended to implicate you regardless of what happened downstairs."
Alonzo stared at him.
"You changed your theory quickly."
Gideon sighed.
"Evidence changes theories."
Flora walked toward the travel tote.
She had packed it herself that afternoon.
The scarf on top bothered her.
It was not hers.
She lifted it with two fingers.
"This scarf does not belong to me."
Cedric came closer.
The silk was dark green with a tiny gold monogram stitched near one corner.
P.V.
Everyone looked at each other.
Portia Vale.
Alonzo's mouth became a hard line.
"She was in this room."
Gideon shook his head.
"Or someone wants you to think she was."
Flora almost laughed.
"Amazing."
Gideon looked at her.
"What?"
"Every piece of evidence against me is obvious enough to be believed, but every piece against Portia is suddenly too obvious."
Gideon did not answer.
Cedric did.
"She's right."
The attorney's eyes narrowed.
Cedric took the green scarf from Flora and handed it to security.
"Bag it."
The guard nodded.
Alonzo moved toward the closet.
The wedding gift bags had been stacked there earlier.
One of the boxes was open.
"Flora."
She joined him.
A silver jewelry box from Cedric's gift table sat inside.
Flora remembered the card attached to it.
The card was gone.
Alonzo lifted the lid.
Inside was a folded sheet of cream paper.
Flora's heart jumped.
"The third page?"
Cedric rushed over.
Alonzo opened it.
It was not Lenora's letter.
It was a bank transfer receipt.
The beneficiary name was Flora Hart.
The amount was two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
The sender was Vale Family Holdings.
Flora stared at it.
"I've never seen this."
Gideon took a slow breath.
"That is a problem."
Alonzo rounded on him.
"Stop saying that."
Cedric snatched the transfer receipt.
"This is not my authorization code."
Gideon looked closer.
"It appears valid."
"I said it is not mine."
Flora's hands had gone cold.
"What is this supposed to mean?"
Gideon answered before anyone else.
"It means someone wants it to look as though the family paid you before the wedding."
Alonzo's gaze sharpened.
"Paid her for what?"
Gideon hesitated.
Flora already knew.
"For finding the letter."
No one contradicted her.
The trap was suddenly obvious.
A hidden phone in her bag.
A transfer in her name.
The cameras disabled with Cedric's credential.
A missing page.
And Portia downstairs, waiting for everyone to discover exactly what had been planted.
Alonzo took Flora's hands.
"Look at me."
She did.
"I know you didn't do this."
Flora wanted to believe that was enough.
Then someone knocked hard on the suite door.
The security guard opened it.
A uniformed police detective stood in the hallway with two officers.
"Alonzo Vale?"
Alonzo stepped forward.
"Yes."
The detective showed his badge.
"Detective Warren."
He looked past Alonzo directly at Flora.
"We received a complaint involving theft, fraud, and destruction of property at this address."
Flora stared at him.
"From whom?"
A familiar voice answered from the hallway.
"From me."
Portia stepped into view behind the officers.
Her cheek was still red.
Her eyes were dry.
Her expression was triumphant.
"I told you this wedding was over."
Alonzo moved toward her.
The officers shifted immediately.
Detective Warren lifted a hand.
"Sir, stay where you are."
Portia pointed to the transfer receipt in Cedric's hand.
"You found it, didn't you?"
Flora looked at her.
"You planted it."
Portia smiled.
"That is exactly what a thief would say."
Cedric stepped forward.
"Detective, my sister-in-law assaulted a child downstairs."
Warren glanced at Portia.
"We will address all allegations."
"Then start with the one two hundred people witnessed."
Portia's face tightened.
The detective looked back at Flora.
"Mrs. Hart, did you receive two hundred and fifty thousand dollars from Vale Family Holdings three days ago?"
Flora shook her head.
"No."
"Do you maintain an account at Blackbridge Private Bank?"
"No."
The detective produced a printed document.
"Then you may want to explain why an account in your name was opened there six weeks ago using your identification."
Flora stopped breathing.
Alonzo looked at the paper.
Her full legal name was printed across the top.
So was her date of birth.
So was the last four digits of her Social Security number.
Flora had never opened the account.
Someone else had.
And whoever had done it had been preparing this long before the wedding.
On the elevator back down, Flora caught her reflection in the mirrored wall.
Her wedding makeup was still perfect except for one streak beneath her left eye.
She looked dressed for a celebration that belonged to someone else.
Alonzo reached for her hand.
"We can stop this and leave."
Flora looked at him.
"And let Portia decide what happened here?"
"I care more about you and Maisie than this house."
"So do I."
Flora squeezed his hand.
"That is why I am not leaving while she is turning my daughter into evidence against me."
The elevator doors opened.
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Portia was waiting below with the police.
