Chapter 2 - The Wedding That Never FinishedNaomi Carter had not come to stop the wedding.
She had come to bring her son home.
That was what she told herself as she stood beneath the stone archway of Alder House, dressed in an inexpensive navy blouse and black trousers, her old car parked beside a row of luxury vehicles.
She had never intended to enter the ballroom.
Evelyn had promised that Eli would attend the family ceremony, give a short speech, and return home before dinner.
Marcus would see his son.
That promise had been the only reason Naomi agreed.
For eighteen months, she had tried to arrange a meeting between them.
Each attempt had ended in silence or a message from someone in the Bennett family office explaining that Marcus was unavailable.
Then, three days before the wedding, Evelyn called.
"Marcus has requested that Eli attend," she said.
Naomi had almost refused.
But Eli had overheard.
"Please, Mommy. Maybe Daddy will talk to me."
She could not deny him that hope.
Now, standing in the doorway, she saw her son crying in his father's arms.
And the room was full of strangers staring at them.
"Eli?"
The boy turned.
"Mommy!"
He broke away from Marcus and ran toward her.
Naomi dropped to her knees just before he reached her.
He crashed into her embrace.
"I told him," he sobbed.
Naomi held him tightly.
"Told him what, baby?"
"Everything."
Over Eli's shoulder, she saw Marcus approaching.
He looked older than he had when she last stood this close to him. His face had become thinner. His eyes were tired.
But the most startling thing was the expression he wore.
He looked lost.
"Naomi."
She rose with Eli beside her.
"Marcus."
For a moment, neither spoke.
They had spent six years married, built a home together, raised a child, and once believed they would grow old in the same house.
Now even their greetings felt unfamiliar.
Marcus held out the blue star.
"Did you send this?"
Naomi stared.
"Where did you find it?"
"Eli said my mother had it."
Naomi took a step backward.
She knew exactly which letter contained that star.
It had been written seventeen months earlier, on the night Eli cried himself to sleep after Marcus missed his school play.
She had written about the empty chair in the second row.
She had described how Eli kept looking toward the auditorium doors.
At the bottom, she had written one sentence.
Please don't let him believe your absence means he is unworthy of love.
Then she had placed the blue star inside.
"I mailed that to Alder House," Naomi said.
Marcus looked toward Evelyn.
His mother stood near the altar, surrounded by guests who were pretending not to listen.
"Mother," he called, "come here."
Evelyn didn't move.
Alaina placed a hand on her arm.
Marcus's voice sharpened.
"Now."
Evelyn approached slowly.
"This has already become a spectacle," she said. "Let us handle it privately."
Naomi looked at her.
"You told me he wanted Eli here."
"He did."
Marcus interrupted.
"I knew he was attending. I didn't know Naomi had been writing."
Evelyn pursed her lips.
"Letters don't automatically entitle someone to your attention."
Naomi stared.
"They were addressed to him."
"And they were filled with accusations about this family."
"They were filled with questions about why my son was losing his father!"
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
"Lower your voice."
Naomi laughed once, without humor.
"For two years, you've told me to lower my voice."
Marcus looked between them.
"What happened two years ago?"
Naomi's expression changed.
"You know what happened."
"I know what I was told."
"And you never thought to ask me?"
He had no answer.
Alaina stepped forward.
"Perhaps the child should be taken somewhere quiet."
Naomi turned toward her.
"You don't get to make decisions about my son."
Alaina's face flushed.
"I wasn't suggesting—"
"You told him I wouldn't matter after today."
Alaina glanced toward Eli.
"That wasn't what I meant."
Eli tightened his grip on Naomi's hand.
"Yes, it was."
His voice was small, but the certainty in it was unmistakable.
Marcus looked at Alaina.
"What exactly did you say?"
Alaina hesitated.
"I said that after today we'd all be one family, and he wouldn't have to worry about the past."
Naomi stared at her.
"His mother is not the past."
Alaina said nothing.
Marcus removed his phone and called his longtime driver, Daniel Foster.
"Bring the car to the side entrance," he said. "And make sure nobody follows us."
Evelyn stepped closer.
"Marcus, you are not leaving your wedding."
He turned toward her.
"Watch me."
"Do you understand what this will do to the company?"
The question was so unexpected that Naomi looked up sharply.
"The company?" Marcus repeated.
Evelyn realized her mistake.
"Your reputation. The investors. The guests."
Marcus glanced around.
The entire ballroom was watching.
People who had praised the Bennett family for its generosity now stood among overturned champagne glasses and wilting flowers.
He had spent years protecting their opinions.
It suddenly seemed like a pathetic achievement.
"Alaina," he said, "the ceremony is over."
Her eyes filled.
"You cannot humiliate me like this."
"I didn't know."
"You should have asked me first."
He looked at her.
"Would you have told me the truth?"
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Naomi guided Eli toward the side doors.
Marcus followed.
But before they reached the corridor, Evelyn spoke again.
"Naomi, that envelope. What is it?"
Naomi stopped.
For the first time, real fear appeared in Evelyn's voice.
Naomi slowly looked down at the worn brown envelope beneath her arm.
"Something I should have brought a long time ago."
Evelyn took a step toward her.
Marcus blocked the way.
"Don't."
Naomi studied Evelyn's face.
Then she understood.
"You know what's in it."
Evelyn went perfectly still.
Alaina stared at the envelope, too.
"What is that?" Marcus asked.
Naomi tightened her grip.
"Copies of some of the letters I sent you."
Evelyn shook her head.
"Marcus, you cannot trust documents she produces after creating this scene."
Naomi looked at him.
"You don't have to trust me. You can check them."
She reached into the envelope and removed a postal receipt.
"A year ago, I sent one by certified mail because I thought maybe the others were getting lost."
Marcus examined it.
The delivery address was Alder House.
The date was clear.
So was the delivery confirmation.
The signature belonged to someone at the Bennett family office.
Not Naomi.
Not Marcus.
Evelyn's personal assistant.
Marcus looked up.
"Why would Ruth sign for a letter addressed to me?"
Evelyn stared at the receipt.
May you like
Then, quietly, she said something that made Naomi's blood run cold.
"Because Ruth followed instructions."
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