Chapter 3 - The Blizzard's Ghost
“But the stolen money isn’t why I’m here,” I continued, my voice dropping an octave, forcing the entire room to lean in to hear me.
I looked down at Lily. She shifted in her carrier, letting out a soft, warm sigh. She was safe. She was alive. And she was the only reason I had found the strength to walk out of that frozen hell.
“Six weeks ago,” I said, lifting my chin and looking directly at the bride. “Mason told me we needed to go for a drive to clear my head. I was exactly nine days postpartum. I was severely sleep-deprived, still bleeding, and still in agonizing physical pain from a complicated delivery.”
The ballroom was so incredibly quiet that the only sound was the soft flickering of the hundreds of candles lining the aisle.
“He drove us up into the mountains,” I said, the memory turning my blood back to ice. “Right as a massive blizzard was moving in. He pulled the SUV over on a deserted pass. He asked to use my cell phone to check the GPS. And then, he unbuckled my seatbelt, physically shoved me out of the passenger seat into the freezing snow, and drove away.”
A woman in the back row let out a muffled, horrified sob. Claire’s hands began to shake violently, the orchids slipping from her grasp and hitting the floor.
“He left a bleeding woman and a nine-day-old infant to freeze to death on the side of a mountain,” I said, the tears I had refused to shed finally burning the corners of my eyes. “Because a crying baby and an exhausted wife didn't fit into his new timeline with a beautiful, wealthy heiress.”
“Shut up!” Mason roared, his eyes wild with absolute terror. He violently shoved his groomsman away. “She’s crazy! She’s making it up! She walked out into the snow herself! She tried to kill the baby, and I drove away to get help! I have witnesses! My mother knows!”
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He pointed a shaking, desperate finger at me.
I looked at his mother. Brenda was openly weeping into her hands, shaking her head back and forth. Even she couldn't protect him from this. The lie was too monstrous.
