Chapter 4

At nine, the wedding planner spread out the contract. "Ms. Sanders, you can cancel, but since it's so close to the date, you'll only get thirty percent of your deposit back."

I nodded. "Fine. Let's stick to the contract."

She looked genuinely surprised. "You really don't want to think about it? Mr. Quinn was here yesterday, double-checking the flowers. He said the bride loved white camellias and only the best would do."

My hand paused as I flipped through the contract.

The planner didn't notice and kept going. "He also asked us to put antacids in the wedding favors. He said one of the important guests has a sensitive stomach."

I glanced at her. "Antacids?"

"Yeah, Ms. Stone was with him yesterday. She mentioned the bride might get nervous and have a stomachache on the big day, so Mr. Quinn told us to put some at every table." The planner trailed off, suddenly realizing what she had said.

I signed the cancellation form.

When I walked out of the office, Mary was standing at the end of the hallway. She wore a dark green dress and held an old cloth bag. When she saw me, she said, "Nora, I'm not here to talk you into getting back together."

I stopped.

She handed me the bag. Inside was a copy of the property deed, a bank card, and a stack of handwritten notes. "I know David didn't pay a single dollar toward renovating your new apartment."

I didn't take it.

Mary set the bag on a nearby bench. "His father thinks you're making a fuss over nothing. But I watched the living room surveillance last night. Emily isn't as innocent as she looks, and David is covering for her. He's not clean either."

I was genuinely surprised.

"David has been praised his whole life. You show him a little kindness, and he thinks he deserves it.

"You give him everything, and he assumes you can't live without him." Mary looked at me, exhausted. She pulled a single page from the stack. "This is a list of all the jewelry and gifts I've given you over the years.

"I know you don't want anything from the Quinn family, so I brought it today to be clear. You can return them if you want. Or keep them. Either is fine."

I pushed the list back to her. "Mary, I know these gifts were your way of being kind. I'll round them up and give them all back to you."

She gave a bitter smile. "You always know where to draw the line."

The elevator doors dinged open. David and Emily walked out together.

Emily was dressed in a white dress, clutching a file folder. As soon as she spotted Mary, she quickly dropped David's sleeve. "Nice to meet you."

Mary didn't reply.

David's face darkened when he saw the bag on the bench. "Mom, why are you here?"

"I came to see how badly you've messed up your relationship," Mary said.

David frowned. "You don't know what's going on."

Mary said, "I watched the surveillance footage last night."

Emily's face went pale.

David lowered his voice. "Mom, the cameras only show one side of things. Emily's not like that."

Mary looked at him. "So what is she?"

Emily's eyes welled up. "Mrs. Quinn, I know you don't like me. But Mr. Quinn and I are only boss and employee. I'm here to help him get the wedding deposit back."

She handed him the folder. "I went through all the contracts last night. Nora used Mr. Quinn's backup card to sign everything. Strictly speaking, those payments should be refunded to him."

David turned to me right away. "You used my card?"

I looked at Emily. She kept her head down, her fingers gripping the folder like she was about to cry from being so wronged. I said, "You gave me that backup card for wedding expenses. After every charge, you personally confirmed it."

David said, "But it's my card."

Mary's expression hardened. "David."

He avoided her gaze. "Nora, since you want to break up, we need to clear things up financially."

I pulled out my phone and opened the bank transfer records. "For the past two years, all the payments for that backup card came straight from my own account."

David froze. Emily's head snapped up.

I pushed the transaction history toward him. "When you gave me the card, you said to use it for wedding expenses so it would be easier to track. But you never told Emily who was actually making the monthly payments."

Mary took my phone, looked through the records, and then slapped David across the face.

The hallway went dead silent. David clutched his cheek, looking at her in disbelief. Emily took a step back.

I took my phone back. "The wedding refund will go back to the original card. I'm closing the card today. Whatever happens after that is your responsibility."

David finally started to panic. "Nora, that's not what I meant."

I stared at him. "David, every time you mess up, you say that's not what you meant."

"So what do you want me to say?" he asked.

"Nothing." I brushed past him and headed for the elevator.

Emily suddenly spoke up. "Nora, were you planning to break up from the start? Why else would you have all the bank statements ready?"

I pressed the elevator button. "Because I'm a doctor."

She looked confused.

I turned to her. "Before surgery, you make sure every tool is accounted for. When a relationship ends, you check every detail too."

As the elevator doors slid shut, I saw David standing there. For the first time, he didn't come after me. Maybe he didn't know who to chase.

I thought the hardest part of calling off the wedding would be the money. It turned out the real mess was the ones involved.