Chapter 2 - A Bride Who Could Not Scream
Adrian slipped his jacket over Tessa's shoulders. Her wedding dress was torn at the waist, and rope had rubbed angry red lines around her wrists. Willa stood nearby, suddenly frightened by the axe resting on the floor.
"I broke the flowers," she whispered.
"You found her," Adrian told her. "I'm proud you spoke up. But you must never pick up something sharp like that again. Do you understand?"
Willa nodded. He handed her to their aunt Helen, who took her into the first pew and held her close.
Silas backed toward the side entrance while guests lifted phones. Gideon reached for him, then seemed to change his mind.
"He belongs in a hospital," Gideon announced. "He's unstable. Someone call security."
"I'm calling the police," Alisa said.
"Alisa, darlingâ"
"Don't darling me. My son's bride was tied behind a wall."
Two guards appeared, but Silas flung his veil across one man's face. A tray toppled. By the time they reached the service hallway, he was gone. Gideon's head of security, Grant Pike, chased after him with suspiciously little urgency.
Tessa gripped Adrian's hand. "He wasn't alone. Somebody locked me back there twenty minutes before the ceremony."
"Did you see who?"
"Boots. Black gloves. A man's voice telling me to be quiet." She swallowed hard. "Then I saw a hand reach through the flowers to tighten the rope."
"What hand?"
"A gold ring with a square black stone."
Adrian looked over his shoulder. Gideon wore an identical ring on his right hand, one he'd worn every day for as long as Adrian remembered.
"Dad?" Adrian asked.
Gideon shoved his hand into his pocket. "Don't look at me like that."
The chapel doors opened again. Detective Lena Ortiz stepped inside with two uniformed officers. Her eyes moved from the broken flower wall to the rope, then to Tessa's bruised wrists.
"Nobody leaves until we know what happened," she said.
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At that exact moment, Gideon's phone lit up on the pew. A message appeared across the screen before he could hide it.
THE GIRL SAW THE WRONG ROOM. PLAN B NOW.
