The Red Wine Before the Vows

For several seconds, all I could hear was the air conditioner humming above us.

My future mother-in-law, Patricia Hayes, was standing in the penthouse photograph wearing a cream silk robe, her hair perfectly styled, and a glass of champagne in one hand.

Olivia stood beside her.

Ryan was behind them.

They weren't kissing. They weren't even touching.

But the expression on Patricia's face was enough to make my skin crawl.

She was smiling.

Not the polite smile she gave guests at charity galas. Not the tight smile she used whenever I mentioned my modest upbringing or the small apartment I'd inherited from my mother.

This was a smile of victory.

In her other hand was a thick document folder.

My name was visible on the first page.

*EMILY CARTER — PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT AND SUPPLEMENTAL ASSET DISCLOSURE.*

I looked at Ryan.

“What is that?””

He rubbed his jaw.

“It's nothing you need to worry about right now.””

“It's a document with my name on it, Ryan.””

“Emily, please. Not here.””

Vanessa laughed.

“Not here? That's adorable. He wants privacy now.””

Ryan turned toward her.

“Shut your mouth.””

“Make me.””

Daniel stepped between them.

“Both of you, stop. There's a wedding downstairs, and people are already asking questions.””

Claire looked at him sharply.

“Then maybe somebody should explain why the groom's ex-girlfriend has photographs of him meeting the bride's sister at two in the morning.””

Daniel's mouth tightened.

He looked at Ryan.

Then he looked away.

That small movement told me more than any photograph could.

“Daniel,” I said, “did you know?””

He hesitated.

“Emily, I—”

“Did you know?””

Ryan cut in.

“Don't drag him into this.””

I turned toward my fiancé.

“You brought him here. You brought everyone into this except me.””

My voice sounded strangely calm. It was the voice I used when I was trying not to cry in public.

Ryan reached for my hand.

I stepped back.

“Please let me explain,” he said.

“Then explain.””

He glanced at Vanessa's phone.

“She took those pictures out of context.””

Vanessa raised an eyebrow.

“Which part? You entering the penthouse? Olivia entering after you? Or your mother sitting there with a contract designed to keep Emily from touching a single dollar of the Hayes family fortune?””

“That's not what the agreement says,” Ryan snapped.

“Then why don't you tell her what it says?””

Patricia's voice suddenly came through the phone's speaker.

Vanessa had opened a video.

The image shook for a moment before settling on the penthouse sitting room. Patricia was seated on a velvet sofa. Olivia stood near the window, twisting a champagne flute between her fingers.

Ryan was pacing.

Even without hearing every word clearly, I could see that something was wrong.

Then Patricia spoke.

“Emily is sweet enough,” she said.

“But she doesn't understand how this family operates. We cannot have someone with her background making decisions about our assets.””

Olivia looked down.

“She isn't marrying you for your money, Ryan.””

Patricia gave a dry laugh.

“Of course she isn't. She has convinced herself that love is enough. That's precisely why we need the agreement signed.””

Ryan stopped pacing.

“She'll sign it because she trusts me.””

My heart lurched.

Patricia leaned forward.

“And if she refuses?””

Ryan stared at the floor.

“Then I'll deal with it.””

The video ended.

No one spoke.

I could feel every pair of eyes in the room resting on me.

My mother had worked two jobs to keep us afloat after my father left. She'd sewn wedding dresses for women who spent more on flowers than my mother earned in a month. When she got sick, I'd used my savings to pay for medication until there was nothing left to save.

I had never asked Ryan for his money.

I had never asked his family for anything.

Yet they were discussing me as if I were an intruder trying to steal their house.

“Why was Olivia there?”” I asked.

Ryan ran both hands through his hair.

“My mother wanted to talk about the agreement. Olivia was helping her understand some of the legal language.””

“Olivia isn't a lawyer.””

“She works in finance.””

“That isn't the same thing.””

“She was trying to help.””

I looked at Vanessa.

“And you? Why were you there?””

For the first time, her smile faltered.

“Because Ryan called me.””

Ryan spun toward her.

“That's a lie.””

Vanessa's eyes flashed.

“You called me at 12:36 A.M. You said you needed someone who understood what your mother was planning.””

“Stop.””

“You said you were afraid Emily would discover the truth before the wedding.””

“Vanessa!””

His shout made the bridesmaids flinch.

I stared at him.

“What truth?””

He went silent.

Vanessa lowered her phone.

“Ask your sister.””

My fingers went numb.

I pulled out my own phone and called Olivia.

She answered on the fourth ring.

“Emily? Is everything okay? I'm getting dressed. Mom's asking where you are.””

“Where were you last night?””

Silence.

Then a rustling sound.

“What do you mean?””

“Don't do that. I saw the pictures.””

Olivia exhaled shakily.

“Emily, I can explain.””

“Were you with Ryan?””

“Not like that.””

The words hit harder than a confession.

I gripped the edge of the vanity.

“What does that mean?””

“Please don't do this over the phone.””

“Then come upstairs.””

“I can't.””

“Why not?””

A pause.

Then Olivia whispered, “Because Mom is here.””

My stomach dropped.

“Where?””

“At the venue.””

I looked at the door.

“Why is she at the venue? She's supposed to be at the church with Aunt Rachel.””

“Emily, listen to me. You need to put the wedding on hold.””

Ryan stepped toward me.

“Who are you talking to?””

I held up a hand to silence him.

“Olivia, why?””

Her breathing grew uneven.

“Because the agreement isn't the only thing they were discussing last night.””

“What else?””

“Emily, I found something in Ryan's mother's files. Something with your name on it. I wasn't supposed to see it, but I did.””

I glanced at Vanessa's phone.

The folder in the photograph had been marked with my name.

“What did you find?””

Olivia began to cry.

“I think they already know about the money.””

“What money?””

“The money Mom left you.””

My mouth went dry.

My mother had left me a small life insurance payout, her apartment, and a locked wooden box containing letters and personal documents. There was no fortune. No secret investment portfolio.

At least, that was what I had always believed.

“What are you talking about?”” I asked.

Olivia lowered her voice.

“Emily, do you remember the letter Mom told you never to open until your wedding day?””

The room tilted.

I remembered.

Three months before she died, my mother had placed a sealed envelope in my hands. She'd told me it was important, but she wanted me to open it only on the morning of my wedding.

I had tucked it into the back of my bedside drawer.

I'd forgotten about it in the chaos of planning the ceremony.

“Olivia,” I whispered, “how do you know about that letter?””

She sobbed.

“Because I saw a copy of it last night.””

My eyes moved to Ryan.

He was staring at me with a look of pure dread.

Olivia continued.

“Emily, your mother didn't leave you what you think she left you.””

The call disconnected.

I stared at the screen.

Then I looked up.

Ryan was no longer trying to defend himself.

He was watching me as if the ground beneath both of us had finally begun to crack.

“Where is the letter?”” he asked.

I took one step back.

“Why?””

He swallowed.

“Because I need you to listen to me before you open it.””

I felt my heartbeat in my throat.

“What did my mother know, Ryan?””

He didn't answer.

Instead, Vanessa quietly picked up her clutch.

“Now you understand,” she said.

“This wedding was never just about love.””

She moved toward the door.

Before she reached it, Ryan grabbed her arm.

“You promised you wouldn't tell her.””

Vanessa turned slowly.

“And you promised me you would leave her.””

The silence that followed was absolute.

I looked at my fiancé.

Then at his ex-girlfriend.

“What did you just say?””

Vanessa pulled free.

“Ask him what happened six months ago, Emily. Ask him why he came back to you after we broke up.””

Ryan's face hardened.

“Get out.””

But Vanessa had already reached the door.

She looked back at me one last time.

“Find your mother's letter before they do.””

Then she disappeared into the hallway.

I stood motionless, staring at the doorway.

A moment later, my phone vibrated.

It was a message from Olivia.

I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner.

A second message appeared.

Don't trust Ryan's mother.

Then a third.

And whatever you do, don't let Ryan sign the marriage certificate.

I read the last sentence twice.

The marriage certificate?

I turned toward the window. Beyond the glass, the garden was filled with white roses and rows of chairs. Guests were beginning to take their seats. Somewhere downstairs, a string quartet was rehearsing the song Ryan had chosen for my entrance.

In less than forty minutes, I was supposed to walk down the aisle.

But the man waiting at the altar might have been planning something long before he ever proposed.

I rushed to the vanity and grabbed my purse.

Ryan blocked the door.

“Where are you going?””

“To get my mother's letter.””

His jaw tightened.

“Emily, don't.””

“Move.””

“You don't understand what's at stake.””

“Then tell me!””

He looked toward Daniel, who stood frozen near the wall.