Chapter 7: The Guest Who Knew Too Much
Maya stared at the message until the words blurred.
Her fingers went cold around the phone.
The wedding music downstairs continued playing.
A beautiful melody.
A perfect illusion.
But upstairs, inside the dressing room, everything had changed.
Darius took the phone from her hand.
He read the message twice.
Then a third time.
His expression became darker with every second.
“Who has this number?”” he asked.
Maya shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“Think.””
“I don’t know, Darius.””
Her voice cracked.
“I only gave it to people close to me.””
Evelyn looked away.
That small movement caught Darius’s attention.
“Evelyn.””
She didn’t respond.
“Look at me.””
Slowly, she did.
“You know something.””
Evelyn sighed.
“I know that whoever sent this is not afraid of us.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“They’re confident.””
Darius looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because they know they’re protected.””
The answer disturbed everyone.
Maya looked toward the door.
“Protected by who?””
Nobody answered.
The silence was enough.
Darius walked toward the hallway.
“We’re not staying up here waiting.””
Evelyn stood quickly.
“No.””
He stopped.
“No?””
“You can’t walk downstairs and accuse everyone.””
“I’m not accusing everyone.””
Darius pointed at the message.
“I’m finding the person who threatened Maya.””
Evelyn’s voice lowered.
“You don’t understand how dangerous this is.””
Darius looked back at her.
“You keep saying that.””
“Because it’s true.””
“Then stop protecting the people who are dangerous.””
The words hit Evelyn harder than he expected.
She looked down.
Because somewhere deep inside, she knew he was right.
Maya walked toward the mirror.
Her reflection looked unfamiliar.
The coral gown was torn.
Her makeup was streaked from tears.
The woman staring back at her looked nothing like the bride who had walked into the room an hour earlier.
“I don’t even know who I am anymore.””
Evelyn’s face softened.
“Maya…”
“No.””
Maya turned.
“You don’t get to comfort me like nothing happened.””
Evelyn stopped.
“You knew about my mother.””
“Yes.””
“You knew about my father.””
“Yes.””
“You knew someone was watching me.””
Evelyn swallowed.
“Yes.””
Maya shook her head.
“And you still let me walk into this room wearing that dress.””
“I was trying to stop it.””
“You cut it.””
“I know.””
“You lied.””
“I know.””
Maya looked away.
The anger in her eyes was mixed with something worse.
Disappointment.
“You weren’t protecting me.””
Evelyn whispered:
“I was trying to.””
Maya didn’t answer.
Darius stepped between them.
“We need to focus.””
He looked at Marcus.
“You said someone was watching. Who?””
Marcus hesitated.
Then pulled out his phone.
“I have been tracking the people connected to this for months.””
Darius narrowed his eyes.
“You were tracking them?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told Maya?””
Marcus looked at her.
“I was trying to keep her alive.””
Maya stared.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
Her voice became bitter.
“Everyone keeps making choices for me because they think I’m too weak to know the truth.””
Nobody spoke.
Because nobody could deny it.
Darius looked at Marcus’s phone.
“What did you find?””
Marcus opened a file.
Several names appeared.
Dates.
Photos.
Messages.
Then one image stopped Darius.
A guest list.
For the wedding.
He zoomed in.
Maya noticed his face.
“What?””
Darius looked at her.
“There’s someone here.””
“Who?””
He turned the screen around.
A name was highlighted.
Maya frowned.
“I don’t know that person.””
Evelyn looked at the name.
And immediately stood still.
Darius noticed.
“You know them.””
Evelyn whispered:
“Yes.””
“Who?””
She looked terrified.
“My brother.””
The room went silent.
Maya stared.
“Your brother?””
Evelyn nodded slowly.
“He wasn’t supposed to be here.””
Darius looked at the guest list.
“But he is.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“When did he arrive?””
Evelyn looked toward the hallway.
“I don’t know.””
Darius grabbed his jacket.
“Then we find him.””
Maya grabbed his arm.
“Wait.””
He looked at her.
“What?””
She pointed at the receipt still sitting on the table.
The receipt that started everything.
“You said the dress was evidence.””
Marcus nodded.
“It was.””
“But someone took what was inside.””
“Yes.””
Maya looked at Evelyn.
“Then why would they leave the receipt?””
Nobody answered.
Because suddenly the question became obvious.
The receipt had not been hidden.
It had been found.
Someone wanted Darius to discover it.
Someone wanted this entire chain of events to happen.
Darius slowly picked up the paper.
“This wasn’t a mistake.””
Evelyn’s face changed.
“No.””
Maya looked at her.
“What?””
Evelyn whispered:
“Someone wanted you to know.””
The lights flickered again.
This time, nobody moved.
Because everyone understood.
The person behind this was not trying to hide anymore.
They were sending a message.
Then the wedding hall speakers suddenly cut off.
The music stopped.
A second later, every screen inside the mansion turned on.
May you like
And on every screen…
was a photograph of Maya’s mother.
