The bride took one step backward.
“Lucas… this isn’t what you think.”
One of the officers raised his hand.
“Rebecca Hale?”
Her face drained of color.
“We need to ask you some questions about the disappearance of Sarah Bennett.”
The little girl began crying.
“That’s my mommy.”
Lucas stared at Rebecca.
“You told me Sarah abandoned her daughter.”
Rebecca’s eyes filled with panic.
“She did!”
The second officer opened a folder.
“No. She didn’t.”
He placed several photographs on a nearby table.
Security-camera images.
Rebecca meeting Sarah outside a hotel.
Rebecca following her car.
And one final photograph taken three days after Sarah disappeared.
Rebecca entering a pawn shop…
carrying Sarah’s necklace.
Guests began whispering.
Lucas stepped away from his bride as if she were a stranger.
Rebecca suddenly snapped.
“She was going to ruin everything!”
The room went dead quiet.
Lucas stared at her.
“What did you do to her?”
Rebecca covered her mouth.
Too late.
Everyone had heard her.
The officer stepped closer.
“Where is Sarah?”
Rebecca started crying.
Then the little girl looked toward the back of the ballroom.
Her eyes widened.
“Mommy?”
Every head turned.
A woman stood trembling in the doorway.
Alive.
And the moment Rebecca saw her…
she screamed.
