Chapter 2 - The Missing Drive
Chaos erupted instantly inside the cathedral.
Guests jumped out of their wooden pews, shouting and pointing at the altar.
Celeste staggered backward, clutching her chest as if she had seen a ghost.
"Isabella?" Celeste gasped, her voice trembling.
"You drowned in Italy."
Isabella stopped at the edge of the altar, her eyes locked on Adrian.
"I was pushed in Italy, Celeste," she corrected sharply.
"There is a very distinct difference."
Adrian lunged toward me, his fists clenched in sudden, uncontrollable rage.
"You manipulative little liar!" he screamed.
Before he could reach me, the two detectives sprinted up the steps and tackled him to the marble floor.
They slammed his face against the stone and pulled his arms behind his back.
The heavy click of steel handcuffs echoed over the screams of the crowd.
"Adrian Vale, you are under arrest for massive wire fraud, identity theft, and attempted murder," the federal investigator announced.
I pulled a white silk shawl over my shoulders, covering my bruised skin.
I walked over to where Adrian was pinned against the floor.
"I told you I was not just a bookkeeper," I whispered down to him.
Adrian glared at me with pure, unadulterated hatred.
He stopped struggling and looked past me, locking eyes with his mother in the front row.
"The greenhouse," he mouthed silently to Celeste.
Celeste immediately turned and began pushing her way through the panicked crowd toward the side exit.
My attorney, Evelyn, rushed to my side.
"Clara, we need the master flash drive to secure the federal warrants," Evelyn said urgently.
"Where did you put it?"
I reached into the thick bouquet of white roses I had dropped near the altar.
I had hollowed out the center of the floral arrangement to hide the encrypted drive.
My fingers dug through the damp petals and thorny stems.
My heart stopped beating for a second.
The center of the bouquet was completely empty.
I dropped the flowers and frantically scanned the altar.
"It is gone," I told Evelyn, panic rising in my chest.
"Someone took it."
I looked at the spot where my maid of honor had been standing just moments ago.
My younger sister, Sarah, was nowhere to be found.
I pulled out my phone and dialed her number, praying she had just stepped away in the chaos.
The call went straight to voicemail.
May you like
I looked down at the marble floor and saw a small, familiar object glittering in the light.
It was Sarah's diamond earring, lying in a fresh puddle of blood.
