The following afternoon, an investigating detective contacted Alisa to clarify details of the installation documents. Police had interviewed a temporary wedding assistant whose employment had been arranged through Celia rather than the regular venue staff. His account supported Tessa’s recollection of being taken through the service corridor and confined behind the floral display. He had described helping Celia move her into the concealed space, claiming he understood the incident to be part of a staged confrontation until he saw how frightened Tessa had become.
The assistant’s statement was being checked against accounts from other employees, including a bridal attendant who had helped Elliot prepare his disguise. That attendant described remaining with Elliot while Celia handled the final arrangements for the ceremony. Elliot had understood that Tessa would be delayed in a preparation room while he briefly appeared beside Adrian, intending to reveal his identity before the vows began. The emerging accounts suggested that the confinement behind the flower wall had been arranged separately from his theatrical impersonation, although investigators still had to establish what each participant had known.
Alisa found the distinction difficult to accept emotionally, even as she recognized its importance. Elliot had deliberately entered the wedding dressed as his own daughter, preparing to expose Gideon before their relatives and guests. His actions had created confusion that others could exploit, and he could not simply claim that the resulting harm had nothing to do with him. Yet the accounts gathered so far were beginning to suggest that the person responsible for Tessa’s captivity might have understood Elliot’s intentions well enough to turn them against him.
That evening, Margaret called with further information from the wedding contractors. Celia had requested that the floral enclosure remain available after the ceremony began, despite the original plan requiring workers to secure the display before guests entered. One employee remembered Gideon accompanying Celia through the service corridor during the final preparations, examining the altered structure without the florist present. Margaret advised Alisa to provide the additional information to the police and avoid discussing it with her husband until she had considered her own safety and legal position.
Alisa was still at Rosehaven when Gideon returned from an afternoon meeting. She found him in the conservatory, where the final traces of the wedding decorations had been removed and the damaged floor had been cleaned. He appeared irritated to discover that she had been speaking with contractors, especially after learning that police officers had requested copies of several invoices. His first questions concerned the documents she had supplied and whether anyone outside the investigation had been allowed to examine them.
“People are already speculating about Elliot,” Gideon said, standing near the empty altar. “Every additional accusation will make it harder for Adrian and Tessa to recover. I suggest you let the attorneys handle this before more damage is done.”
Alisa studied the place where the rose wall had stood. She remembered Willa’s frightened voice, the child desperately trying to make adults understand what she had seen. Gideon had been determined to silence Elliot’s accusations from the moment the mask came off, yet he had shown remarkably little curiosity about how Tessa had ended up behind the flowers. Alisa turned toward him, conscious that her question might end the last possibility of believing his account.
“Why did you pay to have that compartment built, Gideon?” she asked, holding the folded invoice in her hand. “You knew Elliot was coming, and Celia was working directly with you. I need you to explain why our son’s bride was hidden inside a structure you personally approved.”
Gideon’s expression hardened, but he did not immediately deny knowing about the alterations. He looked toward the garden doors, beyond which the estate grounds stretched toward the old greenhouse. For several moments he appeared to weigh what Alisa already knew against the explanation he might still persuade her to accept. When he finally answered, his voice carried the same measured authority he had used throughout their marriage, although she could hear the strain beneath it.
“I was trying to stop Elliot from destroying this family,” he said, looking directly at her. “Celia assured me she could manage the situation. I never intended for Tessa to be hurt.”
Alisa permaneció junto al altar vacío, con la factura temblando ligeramente entre sus dedos. Su marido había admitido saber que Celia intervendría, aun cuando seguía presentándose como la persona que había intentado proteger la boda. Pensó en Tessa atada a una silla, en Elliot de pie bajo un rostro robado y en Willa arriesgando su seguridad porque los adultos a su alrededor habían ignorado una súplica de ayuda. Por primera vez, Alisa consideró que el horror de la boda de Adrian podría haber sido orquestado por alguien que se había sentado a su lado en la primera fila, esperando a que su plan se desarrollara.
