Chapter 12 - The Flight After the Wedding.
The itinerary was scheduled for 9:10 p.m., less than five hours after the ceremony.
Rebecca had booked two seats.
One for herself.
One for Lily.
There was no seat for me.
I looked at Rebecca, waiting for any explanation that made sense.
None came.
"You were going to put my daughter on a plane tonight."
Rebecca shook her head quickly.
"Those were refundable reservations."
"Why did they exist?"
"Because Havenridge was not cooperating with the intake timeline."
Gavin stared at his sister.
"So Switzerland was real."
"It was an alternative."
"An alternative to kidnapping my child?"
Rebecca flinched at the word.
"Do not call it that."
"What would you call taking a six-year-old out of the country with a forged authorization?"
Diane interrupted.
"The document was intended to be signed after the ceremony."
I held up the notarized copy shown in the photograph the officer had sent.
"It already says I signed it."
Diane's mouth closed.
Lily started crying again.
"I don't want to go on a plane."
I picked her up.
"You aren't going anywhere."
She wrapped both arms around my neck.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Rebecca watched us with an expression I could no longer read.
For the first time that day, she looked less angry than defeated.
"Ethan, I never intended to hurt her."
"You terrified her."
"I thought once we had space, things could reset."
"You don't reset a child by making her disappear."
She pressed both hands against her temples.
"You don't understand what your house feels like."
"Then you should never have married into it."
Her eyes flashed.
"We are not married."
"Correct."
The word hit her harder than anything else I had said.
The chapel doors opened and two uniformed officers entered with the venue manager.
One of them asked for Rebecca Vaughn and Diane Vaughn.
The guests still inside began whispering.
Rebecca looked at me.
"You called police here too?"
"I called them about a man entering my house."
The officer explained that after reviewing the documents found with Vincent, detectives wanted statements from everyone involved.
Diane immediately demanded an attorney.
Rebecca laughed bitterly.
"Of course you do."
Diane turned on her daughter.
"Do not say another word."
Rebecca's restraint finally broke.
"You told me it was legal."
Diane's face went rigid.
"Rebecca."
"You said once Ethan signed the postnup, the travel paperwork wouldn't matter."
"Stop talking."
"You said Vincent knew how to make it look temporary."
The officer raised one hand.
"Ms. Vaughn, I'm going to advise you to slow down."
Rebecca stared at her mother as if seeing her clearly for the first time.
Then she turned toward me.
"There is something else."
Diane lunged forward.
"Rebecca, no."
The officers stepped between them.
Rebecca's eyes stayed on mine.
"The trust wasn't the only reason my mother wanted Lily out of the house."
May you like
She swallowed.
"She needed you distracted before you found what we did to your company account."
