Chapter 8 - Plan B
Mercer powered on Andrew’s second phone.
It required a six-digit code.
Lily gave it to him.
“How do you know that?”
“It’s our wedding date.”
The irony made none of us smile.
The phone opened.
There were almost no ordinary messages.
No friends.
No photographs.
No social media.
Only encrypted conversations with contacts identified by initials.
RM.
MH.
AC.
And one labeled M.
Mercer searched for the phrase Plan B.
Six messages appeared.
The earliest had been sent three weeks earlier.
Primary objective remains voluntary handover during wedding.
The next message read.
Public pressure should force compliance.
Another.
If she refuses, create emotional incident and document instability.
My stomach turned.
Lily whispered.
“Instability?”
Mercer continued scrolling.
Existing medical history can support emergency guardianship petition.
I stared at the screen.
“They were going to say I was mentally incompetent.”
Mercer nodded.
It was elegant in the ugliest possible way.
Humiliate me in public.
Provoke me.
Record me screaming.
Then use the incident to claim I was unstable.
If that failed, there was Plan B.
The next message was dated that morning.
M has arranged medication.
Lily gasped.
I remembered the champagne.
Dad had insisted I drink during the toast.
I had taken only one sip before setting the glass down.
Mercer’s face changed.
“Where is your glass?”
“In the ballroom.”
He stood.
Within minutes, officers sealed the bridal table again.
The champagne flute was still there.
Half full.
A forensic technician bagged it.
Mom watched from across the room.
Her fear deepened.
I walked toward her.
“What was in my champagne?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“Was it medication?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who is M?”
She looked at Dad.
He barked.
“Do not answer her.”
Mercer stepped closer.
“Mrs. Holloway, your husband does not control whether you cooperate.”
Mom’s lips trembled.
I had spent most of my life believing she was the cruel one.
Dad rarely raised his voice.
Mom delivered the insults.
Mom made the demands.
Mom slapped me.
But now I saw their marriage differently.
She had been vicious because he gave her permission to be vicious.
And now she looked afraid of him.
“Mom.”
She looked at me.
“Who is M?”
Her eyes filled.
“You won’t understand.”
“Try me.”
She swallowed.
“M isn’t a person.”
Mercer frowned.
“What is it?”
Mom whispered.
“It’s Meridian.”
I looked around.
The Grand Meridian Hotel.
My sister’s wedding venue.
Mom continued.
“Robert doesn’t just know the owners.”
Her voice dropped.
“He owns part of this hotel through one of your trusts.”
May you like
Then the lights went out.
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