Chapter 8 - The Wedding Was Mallory’s Perfect Stage
Mallory’s motive turned out to be less about money than destruction.
She wanted Vanessa to lose three things at once.
Her marriage.
Her freedom.
Her reputation.
The wedding offered the perfect setting.
Hundreds of witnesses would remember Vanessa in white.
Hotel cameras would show a woman dressed like Vanessa near the drink.
I would become ill immediately after marrying her.
Mallory would disappear.
By the time people realized the reception bride looked slightly different, suspicion would already point toward Vanessa.
And Vanessa had motive on paper.
My prenup.
It had been signed three weeks earlier.
Under its terms, Vanessa received nothing extraordinary if we divorced quickly.
But if I died while legally married, ordinary estate provisions and insurance benefits would make her a significant beneficiary.
Mallory knew that because Vanessa had once emailed draft documents to their mother years earlier from the same account Mallory later accessed during the estate dispute.
Suddenly everything fit.
A new bride.
A wealthy groom.
A suspicious drink.
Financial benefit.
A sister nobody knew was present.
Mallory was not trying to become Vanessa permanently.
She only needed to be Vanessa long enough to leave evidence behind.
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Then the real Vanessa would inherit the consequences.
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