Please understand how my family is.
Please let tonight be easy.
Every request had seemed small on its own. Together, they had built a life in which Audrey was always the one expected to bend.
She studied the man she had married.
“I asked you to call an ambulance.”
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
The service doors swung open.
Cool evening air rushed over Audrey’s face. Red and white emergency lights flashed across the vineyard, painting the rows of vines in brief pulses of color.
Beyond the ambulance, unmarked vehicles lined the circular drive.
More investigators were entering the estate.
Audrey saw agents moving toward the offices, the winery buildings, and the private residence beyond the main courtyard. They carried document cases, electronic evidence bags, and sealed orders.
This was larger than the wedding.
It had always been larger.
Still, as the ambulance doors opened, Audrey felt no triumph.
Only grief.
The life she had known was disappearing behind her, and she did not know what would be left when she returned.
Diana walked beside the stretcher.
“I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“Aren’t you staying here?”
“My team can secure the property.”
Audrey looked back toward the estate.
Through the glass doors, guests crowded the ballroom. Seraphina stood near the dance floor in her wedding gown, the train gathered in one hand.
Her new husband, Owen Mercer, was beside her.
Even from a distance, Audrey could see Seraphina’s confusion.
