Three Minutes Earlier
Chapter 02 - Three Minutes Earlier
Emma had been hired for one afternoon.
The catering agency called at dawn because another server was sick. The Reyes wedding paid triple the usual rate, and Emma needed the money. Her younger brother’s tuition deadline was Friday. Their mother’s medical debt had already taken the car. One afternoon carrying glasses among strangers seemed easier than another call from the college finance office.
The estate looked like a place built to make ordinary people feel temporary. White roses climbed stone columns. Crystal glasses stood in perfect lines. Guests arrived in black cars and handed keys to workers without meeting their eyes.
Emma learned the schedule quickly. Orange juice for the bride because Camila did not drink before ceremonies. Champagne for everyone else. Water near the flower arch. No labels, no mistakes, no conversation with guests unless spoken to first.
Adrian spoke to her first.
“Which one is Camila’s?”
His smile was warm, but his eyes remained on the tray.
Emma pointed to the orange drink.
He thanked her and asked another server to find the photographer. Emma walked toward the linen station, then realized she had left her phone near the trays. When she returned, Adrian stood alone at the table.
His shoulders blocked most of the view.
His hand did not.
Emma saw a white container between his fingers. He tipped it over the orange glass. A thin stream vanished into the juice. The container disappeared inside his jacket.
For one second, Emma told herself it might be medicine. A harmless supplement. Something Camila knew about.
Then Adrian looked around.
People doing harmless things do not search for witnesses afterward.
Emma lifted her phone and recorded the last seconds. Her hands trembled so badly that the frame tilted, but it caught the glass, the flower arch, Adrian’s cuff, and the heavy silver ring on his right hand.
Adrian turned.
Their eyes met.
He smiled again.
This time Emma understood the smile was a warning.
May you like
Emma stepped back, but Adrian followed just far enough to block the service path. “Delete it,” he said without moving his lips much. A photographer passed behind him and saw only a groom speaking politely to staff. Emma slipped the phone into her apron pocket.
The coordinator called Camila toward the arch. Adrian turned instantly, his public smile returning. Emma realized then that charm was not the opposite of danger. Sometimes it was the uniform danger wore when witnesses were present.
