I crossed the ballroom in my wedding dress, climbed the small stage, and asked the singer for the microphone.
Two hundred faces turned. Evan smiled, expecting a toast. Peter raised his glass mid-sip.
“Thank you all for being here tonight,” I said. My voice did not shake.
Then I looked straight at my brother.
“Before I cut the cake, I’d like to play a voice memo Peter recorded for me eight months ago. The night he introduced me to my groom.”
Peter’s glass slipped from his fingers and shattered on the marble.
I pressed play. His voice filled the speakers, clear as a bell.
Evan stepped forward, hand raised.
“Trust me, she’s ready. Two years of grief. She’ll say yes to anyone who’s nice to Sophie.”
Somewhere in the back, a cousin laughed, then went silent. A woman gasped near the head table.
Evan stepped forward, hand raised.
“Sweetheart, whatever you think you heard.”
“I know about the trust,” I said into the microphone. “I know you requested the paperwork three weeks ago, Peter. I know what my daughter overheard in the garden room an hour ago.”
“You’re confused,” Evan tried again.
I stepped down. I didn’t look back.
