Chapter 8 - THE MORNING OF WHITE ROSES
Claire woke before sunrise on her wedding day.
For several seconds, she forgot what the day had become.
Her dress hung beside the window.
White roses filled the bedroom.
Messages from friends covered her phone.
Then she remembered Daniel’s voice.
Make sure Hale cannot call shore.
Rachel entered carrying coffee from a sealed container.
“No food or drink from anyone else.”
Claire nodded.
Outside, vendors assembled the ceremony.
Police officers dressed as staff moved through the garden.
Detective Brooks monitored the study.
Mason Pike remained in custody.
Tessa continued wearing her headset while secretly sending updates to security.
At eight, Lorraine’s personal assistant delivered a silver tray.
Tea.
Toast.
A handwritten note:
For my beautiful daughter.
Claire photographed the tray.
An officer collected the tea.
Testing later confirmed it contained the same sedative.
At nine, Daniel knocked.
Tradition supposedly prohibited him from seeing Claire before the ceremony.
He entered anyway.
“You look tired.”
“I didn’t sleep.”
He held her shoulders.
“We can stop all the business fighting today.”
“How?”
“Sign the final forms. Let me handle the company while we travel.”
Claire looked at the man reflected beside her in the mirror.
“Do you love me?”
Daniel appeared wounded.
“How can you ask that today?”
“It should be the easiest question.”
“Of course I love you.”
“More than Hale Meridian?”
His eyes shifted.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Answer.”
Daniel stepped away.
“The company is part of you.”
“That is not what I asked.”
He left without answering.
At ten, Lorraine arrived with the signature packet.
Tessa cleared the room as planned.
Only hidden police microphones remained.
Lorraine placed the papers on the dressing table.
“These protect Daniel if something happens while you are traveling.”
“Rachel hasn’t reviewed them.”
“Your lawyer does not belong in your marriage.”
Claire turned to the final page.
“My voting shares transfer immediately.”
“Temporarily.”
“It says irrevocably.”
Lorraine’s smile disappeared.
“Sign.”
“No.”
Lorraine glanced toward the untouched tea.
“You are emotional.”
“I am clear.”
“You will embarrass everyone waiting outside.”
“They are waiting for a ceremony, not ownership of my company.”
The door opened.
Daniel entered carrying a second folder.
His voice was low.
“We are not walking into that garden until you sign.”
Claire’s heart raced despite knowing officers were nearby.
“What happens if I refuse?”
Daniel moved closer.
“We tell everyone you had a breakdown.”
Lorraine added, “And when you calm down, Daniel will make the decisions you are clearly incapable of making.”
Claire activated the recording application on her phone.
Daniel saw the movement.
He grabbed for it.
Claire stepped back.
Tessa opened the door deliberately.
Bridesmaids, photographers, and relatives filled the hallway.
Daniel released Claire immediately.
His expression changed into concern.
“She’s overwhelmed.”
Claire looked at Tessa.
The planner gave the smallest nod.
Everything had been captured.
Yet Detective Brooks did not intervene.
The most serious recording remained inside Arthur’s study.
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Security had just detected Lorraine’s assistant entering with a metal lockbox.
👉 Inside the lockbox was the original document Arthur had been carrying on the night he died.
