Chapter 4 - The Best Man's Phone.
Damian denied owning the phone before Marcus finished asking the question.
That was his first mistake.
They confronted him in the resort library, away from the guests and cameras.
He stood beside a wall of dark wood shelves with his tuxedo jacket unbuttoned.
"I've never seen it."
Marcus placed the cracked device on the table.
"It's registered to your corporate account."
Damian shrugged.
"Then someone cloned the number."
Elena watched him carefully.
"Ruby says she saw it in the hand of the woman who took her to the edge of the pier."
"Ruby is five."
"You keep reminding us."
"Because you are building a conspiracy around a traumatized child."
Marcus leaned forward.
"Tomas recovered the last notification before the phone hit the water."
Damian's expression did not move.
"Congratulations."
Marcus read from the tablet.
"Pier camera offline. Seven-minute window."
The silence after those words was different.
Damian slowly looked at Celeste, who had insisted on joining the conversation.
Elena noticed that too.
Celeste crossed her arms.
"So someone used Damian's account."
"Why are you answering for him?" Elena asked.
Celeste glared at her.
"Because you have hated me since Marcus proposed."
"No."
Elena remained calm.
"I distrusted you after you asked Marcus to remove Ruby from the family trust."
Marcus looked sharply at Celeste.
"You told me that was your lawyer's idea."
"It was."
Damian cleared his throat.
"This is going nowhere."
Marcus turned toward him.
"Sit down."
Damian did not.
For the first time, the friendship between them looked less like loyalty and more like a standoff.
Tomas entered with a resort technician named Noel.
Noel's face was damp with sweat.
"We found how the camera was disabled."
Marcus gestured for him to continue.
"Someone logged into the security control panel using an administrator code."
"Whose code?"
Noel hesitated.
"Ms. Ward's."
Every eye turned toward Elena.
Celeste gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
"Of course."
Marcus frowned.
"Elena was on the pier."
Noel nodded.
"The login came from a tablet in the bridal preparation suite."
Celeste's face shifted.
Elena caught it.
"Who had access to that suite?"
"The bride, bridesmaids, planner, photographer, and some staff."
Damian finally sat down.
"There you have it. Someone stole Elena's code."
Elena looked at him.
"My code changed yesterday."
Tomas looked surprised.
"I didn't know that."
"Only one person did."
Marcus went still.
Elena continued.
"I texted the new code to Marcus after the rehearsal dinner."
Celeste turned toward him.
"Did you leave your phone anywhere?"
Marcus's expression became distant.
"Last night."
"Where?" Elena asked.
"In Damian's suite."
Damian sat forward.
"Don't do this."
Marcus stared at his oldest friend.
"I fell asleep there after we opened the whiskey."
Elena remembered Ruby's words.
You were sleeping on the floor.
She looked at the cracked black phone.
"The picture Ruby saw wasn't on the pier."
Marcus's jaw tightened.
"It was last night."
Noel suddenly spoke.
"There is something else."
He looked terrified to say it.
"The camera wasn't the only system accessed with Ms. Ward's code."
Marcus stood.
"What else?"
Noel swallowed.
"The electronic lock to Ruby's suite."
Elena's blood went cold.
"When?"
"At 2:13 this morning."
May you like
Ruby had been asleep inside.
And someone had entered her room.
