Chapter 4: What She Promised
Derrick held the envelope between two fingers as if it weighed nothing.
Marcus stared at him.
Vanessa stared at the floor.
Maya quietly moved the phone behind her back.
Derrick smiled.
“You really should’ve asked your bride what she promised me.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“What did she promise you?””
Derrick looked at Vanessa.
“Tell him.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Derrick, please.””
His smile disappeared.
“You begged me for weeks.””
“I said I would fix it.””
“You said that yesterday.””
“I can still fix it.””
Marcus looked between them.
“Fix what?””
Derrick opened the envelope.
He removed several photographs and laid them on the nearest table.
Marcus picked up the first.
It showed Vanessa sitting across from Derrick at a restaurant.
The second showed Vanessa handing him a key.
The third showed Vanessa standing outside Marcus’s bank.
Marcus’s fingers tightened around the photographs.
“What is this?””
Vanessa whispered, “I can explain.””
Derrick laughed.
“She always says that.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Start talking.””
Derrick nodded toward Vanessa.
“She came to me six months ago.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Marcus’s voice dropped.
“Why?””
Derrick answered.
“Because she owed me.””
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“Owed him what?””
“Nothing,” Vanessa said.
Derrick pulled another photograph from the envelope.
“This is your bride leaving a casino in Atlantic City.””
Marcus stared at the image.
Vanessa looked away.
Derrick continued.
“She borrowed money.””
“How much?””
“Two hundred thousand.””
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“You gambled?””
“I was desperate.””
“You told me you were visiting your sister.””
“I was ashamed.””
Derrick leaned against the table.
“I covered the debt.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because she offered me something better than cash.””
Vanessa’s breathing became uneven.
Marcus turned toward her.
“What did you offer him?””
Vanessa said nothing.
Derrick answered.
“You.””
Marcus froze.
Derrick continued.
“Not literally. She promised me access to your money after the wedding.””
Marcus’s face hardened.
“That authorization.””
Derrick nodded.
“She needed your signature.””
Marcus looked down at the document on Maya’s phone.
Derrick pointed at it.
“That gives Vanessa control over the account.””
“Why would you trust her?””
“I didn't.””
He tapped the envelope.
“That’s why I kept evidence.””
Vanessa suddenly rushed forward.
“Give me that!””
Derrick pulled the envelope away.
“No.””
She grabbed his sleeve.
“Derrick, please!””
He shoved her hand off.
“You had your chance.””
Marcus stepped between them.
“Don't touch her.””
Derrick looked at him.
“I'm not the one you should be worried about.””
Marcus turned toward Vanessa.
“Did you really plan to take three million dollars?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“I wasn't going to take all of it.””
The room went silent.
Marcus stared at her.
“You weren't?””
“I only needed enough to pay him.””
“How much?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“Two hundred thousand.””
Marcus laughed in disbelief.
“You risked our marriage for two hundred thousand dollars?””
“It wasn't just the debt!””
“What else?””
Vanessa hesitated.
Derrick answered.
“She owed me for another reason.””
Vanessa looked at him with pure hatred.
“Don't.””
Derrick smiled.
“You should tell him.””
Marcus turned to Vanessa.
“What else?””
“I can explain.””
“Stop saying that.””
Marcus's voice cracked.
“Tell me the truth.””
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“I made a mistake.””
“What mistake?””
She stared at the floor.
“I was involved with him.””
Marcus went completely still.
Derrick looked almost amused.
“Now we're getting somewhere.””
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“How long?””
“Marcus…”
“How long?””
Vanessa whispered, “Before you and I met.””
Marcus exhaled.
“And you kept seeing him?””
She didn't answer.
Derrick did.
“Until three months ago.””
Marcus looked at him.
“You were sleeping with my fiancée three months ago?””
Derrick shrugged.
“She came to me.””
Vanessa screamed.
“Because you threatened me!””
Every guest went silent.
Derrick's expression changed.
Marcus looked at him.
“Threatened her with what?””
Derrick slowly reached into his jacket.
Maya stepped forward.
“Marcus.””
He raised a hand.
“Wait.””
Derrick pulled out a second phone.
Vanessa backed away.
“No.””
Derrick pressed the screen.
A video thumbnail appeared.
Vanessa saw it.
Her face drained of color.
Marcus noticed.
“What is that?””
Vanessa whispered, “Nothing.””
Derrick looked directly at Marcus.
“That's what she keeps telling everyone.””
He held the phone out.
“Watch it.””
Marcus didn't take it.
Instead, he looked at Maya.
Maya's expression was suddenly troubled.
“Don't watch it here,” she said.
Marcus frowned.
“Why?””
“Because once you see it, you can't unsee it.””
Vanessa started shaking.
Derrick smiled.
“That’s exactly why she’s afraid.””
Marcus reached for the phone.
Before his fingers touched it, the ballroom lights flickered.
The music system cut out.
Every chandelier went dark for one second.
Then the lights returned.
Derrick was gone.
Marcus spun around.
“What the—”
The rear doors were swinging shut.
Maya ran toward them.
Marcus followed.
Vanessa screamed behind them.
“Marcus, don't let him leave!””
Maya reached the doors first.
She stopped.
On the floor was the envelope Derrick had been holding.
Marcus picked it up.
Inside was a single photograph.
His face went pale.
It wasn't Vanessa.
It wasn't Derrick.
It was Marcus himself.
Standing outside his bank.
With a woman he'd never seen before.
On the back, someone had written four words:
*ASK HER WHO SHE IS.*
Marcus looked at Vanessa across the ballroom.
May you like
She was trembling.
And then the woman from the photograph stepped out from behind the wedding cake.
