CHAPTER 8 – WHAT THE WHEELCHAIR HID
After the guests were escorted to the reception tent for explanations no one wanted to give, Nathan remained in the garden with Miles, his mother, and his attorney.
Vanessa was taken inside by her parents, crying now with real fear. Whether she cried because she loved Nathan or because she had lost the room, no one knew. Nathan suspected the second. That suspicion hurt more than certainty might have.
Miles helped Nathan sit briefly in a chair near the aisle, not the wheelchair.
“You pushed too hard,” Miles said softly.
Nathan gave him a tired look. “You sound like my doctor.”
“I am your doctor.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re standing out of spite and adrenaline.”
“Also dignity.”
Miles almost smiled. “That too.”
Nathan’s mother knelt in front of him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
His face softened. “Because I needed to know who came near me when they thought I had nothing to offer.”
“I’m your mother.”
“I know. And you passed.”
She cried harder at that.
The attorney, Claire Bennett, opened her tablet but kept the screen angled down with no readable details. “The investigator called during the ceremony.”
Nathan looked up.
“The vehicle evidence is stronger than expected,” she said. “Someone accessed the garage the night before the crash.”
Miles went still.
Nathan closed his eyes.
He had known this was possible. Still, hearing it while the wedding flowers were fresh made his stomach twist.
“Who?” his mother whispered.
Claire hesitated. “Not confirmed yet.”
May you like
But they all knew where the question would turn first.
Vanessa had a key.
