Chapter 1 - The Wedding Is Over
The room went completely silent.
Margaret Callahan stood tall in her emerald dress.
She looked directly at Emily and spoke with absolute clarity.
"This wedding is now over."
Gasps echoed through the vaulted ceiling of the church.
Emily’s perfect smile shattered into a look of pure confusion.
She took a step forward.
"What do you mean, Margaret?"
Daniel let go of Emily's hands.
He stared at his mother.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
Margaret walked slowly up the aisle.
She stopped right next to my wheelchair.
She placed a gentle, warm hand on my scarred shoulder.
"I will not let my son marry a monster."
Emily’s face turned the color of chalk.
She forced a nervous laugh.
"Margaret, what kind of joke is this?"
Daniel stepped away from his bride.
He didn't look confused anymore.
He looked utterly disgusted.
He reached into his tuxedo jacket.
He pulled out a small black audio recorder.
"It isn't a joke, Emily."
Daniel pressed a button on the device.
Emily's own voice filled the silent church.
The recording was crystal clear.
"I don't care if Sarah comes, as long as she sits in the back."
Another voice on the tape, Linda's, replied quietly.
"She ruins the photos, honey, I know."
Emily's recorded voice laughed bitterly.
"I should have left her in that house."
The entire congregation gasped in unison.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Emily had never said anything like that out loud.
At least, never where I could hear it.
My parents turned pale.
Daniel threw the recorder onto the floor.
"You are a monster, Emily."
Emily burst into tears and reached for him.
"Daniel, please, it was taken out of context!"
Margaret stepped forward.
"There is no context that justifies wishing your sister burned to death."
Margaret walked down the altar steps.
She looked down at me with tears in her eyes.
"Sarah, we need to leave."
I was too stunned to speak.
I had spent twelve years believing my sister loved me.
I gave up my skin and my future for her.
Now, the truth was echoing in a church full of strangers.
Before Margaret could push my chair, Mark blocked the aisle.
My father's face was purple with rage.
He grabbed the handles of my wheelchair.
"She isn't going anywhere with you."
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Margaret narrowed her eyes.
"Take your hands off her, Mark, before I tell the police what really started that fire."
