Chapter 8: The Best Man's Betrayal
Marcus Reed had been standing less than twenty feet from me when Madison slapped me the second time.
He had watched Daniel remain silent.
He had watched me steady myself against a chair.
And when Madison accused me of tearing her dress, Marcus had lowered his eyes and pretended to be fascinated by the flowers.
Now, as I stared at his photograph, I remembered something else.
When I first arrived at the estate, Marcus had approached Daniel near the ceremony arch and whispered something into his ear.
Daniel had looked toward me.
Then Marcus had walked away.
At the time, I assumed they were discussing the ceremony.
Now I wondered whether they had been discussing me.
“Where is Marcus?”” my father asked.
Madison checked her phone.
“He was supposed to give a toast after the ceremony.””
“Is he still here?”” Simone asked.
“I don't know.””
Daniel rose.
“This has gone far enough. Marcus is my friend. He has nothing to do with your personal dispute.””
My father looked at him.
“Then it should be easy to ask him a few questions.””
“You can't interrogate my guests.””
“I'm not asking you to interrogate anyone. I'm asking you to stop preventing people from speaking.””
Daniel's face reddened.
“You've been waiting years for a chance to humiliate me.””
My father remained still.
“If I wanted to humiliate you, Daniel, I wouldn't have asked for a private room.””
That silenced him.
I looked toward Madison.
“Can you call Marcus?””
She hesitated.
Then she pressed his name on her phone.
The call rang several times before going to voicemail.
She tried again.
This time, he answered.
“Madison?”” Marcus sounded distracted.
“What's going on? The ceremony should have started by now.””
Madison put the call on speaker.
“The ceremony isn't happening.””
A pause.
“What?””
“Daniel's here. I'm here. Evelyn is here. And we're discussing the missing loan agreement.””
Silence.
Then Marcus said, “I don't know anything about a missing agreement.””
Madison closed her eyes.
“You're a terrible liar.””
“Listen, I don't know what Daniel told you, but I have nothing to do with this.””
My father leaned toward the phone.
“Marcus, my name is Marcus Brooks. I'm Evelyn's father. We would like to ask you about a folder you removed from Daniel's office this morning.””
The silence lasted several seconds.
Then Marcus answered.
“I didn't remove anything.””
Madison's face hardened.
“I have a photograph of you carrying the folder.””
“Then you've got a photograph of me carrying a folder. That doesn't tell you what's inside.””
“Where is it?””
“I'm not discussing this over the phone.””
“Then come back inside,” my father said.
Marcus laughed nervously.
“I left the estate.””
Daniel looked up sharply.
“When?””
“About twenty minutes ago.””
“You told me you were waiting outside.””
“I was. Then I had to take a call.””
Daniel's expression darkened.
“Where are you now?””
“I'm handling something.””
“What something?””
“Daniel, don't do this.””
My father watched Daniel carefully.
Marcus continued.
“Look, I didn't want any of this to happen. You told me everything was settled. You said Evelyn was coming to make a scene, and you asked me to keep the folder somewhere safe until after the ceremony.””
I felt the room tilt.
Daniel lunged toward the phone.
“Marcus, shut up.””
Madison pulled it away from him.
“No. Keep talking.””
Marcus seemed to realize what he had said.
“I'm not talking about this anymore.””
“Where is the folder?”” my father asked.
Marcus's voice dropped.
“I'll call you later.””
The line went dead.
For a moment, all I could hear was the faint hum of the air conditioner.
Then Madison slowly lowered her phone.
“He knew,” she whispered.
Daniel stared at the floor.
“He knew you were going to accuse Evelyn,” she continued.
“He knew about the agreement. He knew about the photograph.””
Daniel rubbed his face.
“Marcus was trying to help me.””
“Help you do what?””
He looked at her.
“Keep the company stable.””
“By hiding a signed agreement?””
“It wasn't like that.””
“Then what was it like?””
Daniel stood and walked to the window.
He remained there with his back to us, looking out at the estate lawn where the wedding guests were gathering near their cars.
For a long moment, I thought he would refuse to answer.
Then he spoke.
“The company had an investor review scheduled for next week. Marcus believed that if the outstanding loan became an issue, it could complicate the review.””
My father folded his hands.
“Was the loan disclosed to the investor?””
Daniel turned.
“It was disclosed originally.””
“Was its current status disclosed?””
He hesitated.
“No.””
Simone closed her eyes.
Madison stared at him.
“You told me everything was fine.””
“I thought I could settle it before the review.””
“With what money?””
Daniel looked away.
I asked the question that had been pressing against my chest.
“Why did you need the original agreement?””
He looked at me.
“Because Marcus thought the old document might create problems if it circulated without context.””
“What context?””
“The company had changed. The agreement was written when we were small. The ownership provisions had never been reviewed after our restructuring.””
My father nodded slowly.
“That may be a legitimate legal issue. It does not erase the debt.””
“I know.””
“Nor does it justify concealing the document.””
Daniel lowered his head.
“I know.””
I studied him.
“Did you tell Marcus to take the agreement so you could pretend it didn't exist?””
“No.””
“Then why did he say you asked him to keep it somewhere safe?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Because I was afraid.””
The honesty of the answer surprised me.
He looked at me, his eyes red.
“I was afraid you'd use the agreement to take control of the company. I was afraid the investor would pull out. I was afraid Madison would find out how much of our future depended on a problem I hadn't solved.””
Madison let out a hollow laugh.
“Our future?””
He turned toward her.
“I wanted to marry you.””
“Then you should have trusted me enough to tell me the truth.””
“I thought you'd leave.””
“So you gave me a different story to believe.””
He didn't answer.
She took a shaky breath.
“You let me believe Evelyn was chasing you. You made me feel threatened by her. You told me she was dangerous, and I believed you because I wanted to believe that our relationship was secure.””
Her voice broke.
“I slapped her because you gave me a reason to think she deserved it.””
I looked at her.
She was finally taking responsibility for her actions.
But there was no satisfaction in hearing her say it.
I knew what it felt like to trust someone so completely that you accepted their version of events without asking questions. I had done it with Daniel. Madison had done it too.
The difference was that I had never struck anyone because of what Daniel told me.
My father interrupted gently.
“Madison, you are responsible for what you did. Daniel is responsible for what he told you. Those are separate matters.””
She nodded.
“I know.””
Then she looked at me.
“I am sorry, Evelyn.””
This time, she said it without qualification.
“I should have asked you what happened. I should have listened. I had no right to touch you.””
I held her gaze.
“I appreciate the apology. But I need time before I can decide what it means to me.””
She nodded again.
“That's fair.””
Daniel watched us with a strange expression.
Perhaps he had expected us to turn against each other forever. Perhaps he had depended on that division to keep either of us from examining his own behavior too closely.
Now that the story was unraveling, he looked increasingly alone.
Simone reopened her folder.
“There is another issue we need to address,” she said.
Daniel groaned.
“What now?””
“When I reviewed the records before leaving the company, I noticed that the original loan agreement was referenced in a document submitted to the board. It wasn't included in the packet, but the document referred to an unresolved obligation.””
My father looked at her.
“Do you have a copy?””
“Yes.””
She removed a page from the back of the folder.
“It was part of the material I was asked to review. I retained a copy because I was concerned that the wording in the final summary might be inaccurate.””
She placed it on the table.
The page contained a list of outstanding obligations and a section titled Items Requiring Resolution Before the Next Capital Review.
My name appeared beneath the heading.
Beside it was a note:
Original creditor agreement to be reviewed. Repayment status unconfirmed.
Daniel stared at the page.
Madison read it over my shoulder.
“You knew the board was aware of the loan.””
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“They knew there had been a loan.””
“They knew it was unresolved.””
“Yes.””
“And you told me you had repaid it.””
He closed his eyes.
“I thought I could resolve it.””
Madison stepped away from him.
“Stop saying that. You didn't resolve anything. You hid it until it became someone else's problem.””
My father looked at the document.
“This will need independent review. Simone, please preserve your copy and provide it only through the appropriate legal process.””
She nodded.
“I will.””
I turned to Daniel.
“Did you ever intend to repay me?””
He looked up immediately.
“Yes.””
“Then why did you keep choosing everything else first?””
He seemed unable to answer.
I continued.
“When you needed help, I came through for you. When you needed time, I gave it to you. When you needed space, I respected it.
When you decided to get married, I congratulated you. I never demanded that you choose me.””
My voice trembled.
“I only asked you to remember that I had trusted you.””
Daniel's eyes filled.
“I did remember.””
“Then you remembered and chose not to act.””
He looked down.
“Yes.””
The single word felt heavier than all his explanations combined.
My father rose.
“We've heard enough for today. The documents will be reviewed, and the appropriate people will be contacted. Nobody is going to resolve a complicated business matter through an argument at a wedding.””
Daniel stood too.
“I'll cooperate.””
“I expect you to.””
My father turned toward the door.
But before he could open it, Madison spoke.
“Wait.””
She looked at Daniel.
“Where is Marcus now?””
Daniel pulled out his phone.
He called once.
No answer.
He called again.
This time, the call connected, but Marcus didn't speak.
Daniel put the phone on speaker.
“Marcus, listen to me. Bring the folder back.””
A car engine hummed in the background.
Marcus finally replied.
“I can't.””
Daniel went pale.
“What do you mean, you can't?””
“Because I already gave it to the person you told me not to involve.””
My father stepped closer to the phone.
“Who did you give it to?””
Marcus exhaled shakily.
“Your lead investor.””
Daniel's face drained of color.
May you like
Then Marcus added the words that made everyone in the room stop breathing.
“And he's already on his way to the estate.””