Chapter 2 - The Walk of Shame
The heavy wooden door clicked shut behind me, cutting off Amanda’s furious screams.
I stood in the hallway for a brief second, trying to process the message I had just read.
Sophie’s biological mother had passed away three years ago, or so I had always believed.
There was no logical reason for any lawyer representing her to be calling Amanda’s secret accomplice.
I shoved the burner phone deep into my tuxedo pocket and scooped Sophie up into my arms.
"Keep your eyes closed, sweetie, we are just going to walk straight out to the car," I whispered.
The hallway led directly to the main foyer of the church, where the wedding march was supposed to begin.
As I rounded the corner, I came face to face with the entire bridal party waiting in formation.
My best man, David, stepped forward with a confused look on his face.
"Daniel, where are you going with the flower girl?" he asked.
"The ceremony is canceled, David, please tell the guests to go home," I announced loudly enough for everyone to hear.
A collective gasp echoed through the crowded foyer.
Amanda’s father pushed his way to the front of the crowd, his face purple with rage.
"What is the meaning of this disrespect, Daniel?" he bellowed, grabbing my shoulder.
I shoved his hand away with a force that made him stumble backward.
"Ask your daughter why she was beating my child in the dressing room," I snarled.
The silence that fell over the room was deafening.
Nobody dared to say another word as I carried Sophie out the front doors and into the cool evening air.
I jogged down the stone steps toward the parking lot, desperate to get my daughter to safety.
I reached into my pocket for my car keys, my heart still pounding in my chest.
When we finally reached my black sedan, I stopped dead in my tracks.
All four of my tires had been violently slashed, the rubber completely flattened against the asphalt.
Before I could even react, a tall man stepped out from the shadows of a nearby oak tree.
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He was casually twirling a silver pocket knife in his right hand.
"You shouldn't have taken that phone, Daniel," the man said with a sinister smile.
