Chapter 2 - The Police Were Already Waiting
The first officer approached Jessi.
“Ma'am, are you injured?”
Jessi touched her nose.
“Nothing serious.”
Luca immediately stepped forward.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
Nobody answered him.
Another officer entered behind the first.
Then another.
Wendy's confidence disappeared.
“This is my son's wedding,” she snapped. “You can't just walk in here.”
The officer calmly replied, “We received a report of an assault.”
Luca looked at Jessi.
“You called them?”
“No.”
His expression changed.
“Then who did?”
Jessi glanced toward Phoebe.
Phoebe lowered her eyes.
The answer was obvious.
But the police weren't there simply because of the cake.
Jessi had contacted them earlier that afternoon.
Not because she expected Luca to attack her.
Because she had discovered something in the marriage documents.
A clause allowing Luca's family to gain control over several properties she owned.
She had intended to confront him privately.
Then Luca had shown everyone exactly who he was.
An officer asked Jessi to step aside.
Luca tried to follow.
“Sir, stay where you are.”
“But she's my fiancée.”
Jessi turned.
“No.”
The word was quiet.
“We're not married.”
Luca stared at her.
Wendy stepped forward.
“You signed the agreement.”
“I signed nothing.”
Wendy's face hardened.
“You signed the prenuptial contract.”
Jessi looked at her.
“Then show it to me.”
Silence.
Phoebe walked forward and handed the officer a folder.
“There are three versions.”
Luca's head snapped toward her.
“Phoebe.”
She didn't look at him.
“The signature pages don't match.”
The officer opened the folder.
Jessi's stomach tightened.
This was bigger than she thought.
Someone hadn't merely pressured her into a marriage.
Someone had forged legal documents.
And the person who had done it had access to her private records.
Luca suddenly looked at Wendy.
Wendy looked away.
Jessi noticed.
So did the officer.
“Mrs. Carter,” he said, “we need to ask you some questions.”
Wendy's smug expression vanished.
Jessi looked at Phoebe.
“You knew?”
Phoebe swallowed.
“I knew something was wrong.”
“What?”
Phoebe whispered:
“The money wasn't just about the wedding.”
She opened the tablet.
“There are transfers from your accounts.”
Jessi stared at the screen.
Millions of dollars had moved.
May you like
And she had never authorized any of them.
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