Chapter 2 - THE FIRST LIE IN THE CASKET
Rebecca did not scream.
Neither did I.
That probably scared Adrian more later than any public confrontation could have.
We sat on the edge of the bridal suite sofa while she showed me dates.
Trips.
Messages.
Photographs.
Adrian had been seeing her for four months before the crash.
During our engagement.
During cake tastings.
During venue appointments.
During nights he told me business kept him late.
My stomach turned.
“He said you two ended a year ago.”
“We were getting married in six weeks.”
Rebecca shut her eyes.
“I didn’t know.”
“I believe you.”
She looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because if you knew, you wouldn’t look like you’re going to throw up.”
That almost made her laugh.
Then someone knocked.
“Rebecca? Five minutes.”
Colleen’s voice.
Rebecca froze.
I stood.
“Open it.”
“What?”
“Open the door.”
She did.
Colleen stepped in carrying a small jewelry box.
Then saw me.
Her entire body stopped.
“Meredith.”
Rebecca closed the door behind her.
“What did you tell me about her?”
Colleen looked between us.
“This is not the time.”
“It is exactly the time.”
I had never heard Rebecca’s voice hard before.
Colleen’s face changed.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
I stepped closer.
“Preferably before your son marries two women in one calendar year.”
Colleen closed her eyes.
“He is not married to you.”
“Wasn’t for lack of planning.”
Rebecca lifted the photograph.
“You knew he was seeing both of us.”
Colleen did not answer.
That was enough.
Rebecca whispered:
“Oh my God.”
Then I asked the question that had been burning through me since the hallway.
“Who was in the casket?”
Colleen went still.
Rebecca looked at me.
“What?”
I repeated it.
“A closed casket was buried under Adrian’s name. Who was inside?”
Colleen sat down.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Finally:
“No one.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“The casket was empty.”
I stared at her.
“I held your hand.”
“I know.”
“You watched me put flowers on an empty box.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I know.”
I wanted to hate her.
Maybe I did.
But something in her face looked less like cruelty and more like terror.
“Why?”
“Because Adrian had to disappear.”
“For Rebecca?”
“No.”
Colleen’s answer came instantly.
Rebecca and I looked at each other.
Then at her.
“Then why?”
Colleen lowered her voice.
“Someone tried to kill him.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So naturally he celebrated by planning a wedding.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Stop saying that.”
Colleen stood.
“The car crash was real.”
My anger faltered.
“What?”
“Adrian was supposed to be in that car.”
“Supposed to?”
“He changed vehicles twenty minutes before the explosion.”
A cold feeling spread through me.
“Explosion?”
“The brakes didn’t fail. The car was blown apart.”
Rebecca sat slowly.
“Who was driving?”
Colleen looked away.
My skin prickled.
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Julian.”
Adrian’s older brother.
The man I assumed was getting married today.
I stopped breathing.
Colleen began crying.
May you like
“Julian died in Adrian’s place.”
And suddenly the closed casket had not been empty after all.
