Chapter 3

After we got back to the villa, I called Oliver the butler straight up to me.

He'd been with my dad for decades—reliable and tight-lipped.

I told him everything that had just happened.

And I asked him to look into David Sanchez and Ebony Henson's movements over the past three months.

Oliver didn't ask any questions. He just turned and left.

In less than an hour, he came back with a stack of photos and documents.

"Miss, your hunch really was right. Those two animals really are up to something…" Oliver said, seething, and set the evidence he'd dug up on the table.

I took a deep breath and glanced at the photo on top.

It was dated two months ago.

A photo of David out on a date with Ebony, wearing the beige trench coat I'd bought him.

Farther down, it was all their hotel booking records.

And that wasn't even the half of it.

What shocked me most was David's medical diagnosis.

It turned out he'd suffered from severe manic disorder since childhood and had never once stopped taking his prescription meds.

That was when I understood why I'd never sensed any malice from him before.

It was all because his emotions had been suppressed by the medication.

Until today.

I'd cursed Ebony out in public, and his emotions slipped out of control.

That was what finally let me sense the malice.

He hadn't gotten close to me because he liked me at all.

He was after the Henson family's fortune.

As for Ebony.

I didn't even have to think about it—her goal was obviously the same as David's.

That was why the two of them had gotten together so early, in it together like a pair of crooks.

Once I had it all figured out, I grabbed the photos and went to the living room.

My dad was reading the paper, and my mom was knitting a sweater.

When they saw me come in, they both looked up and smiled.

They asked whether I was nervous, since I was getting married tomorrow.

They even asked what I wanted as a wedding gift.

Looking at my parents' gentle faces, my nose stung.

I knew I couldn't keep hiding it.

So I steeled myself.

I threw Oliver's investigation photos down on the table and told them everything about my condition, too.

"Dad, Mom, I can't go through with this wedding. David and Ebony have been together for a long time now. He even wants to hurt me—he's after our family's money!"