Chapter 1 - Thirty-Seven Empty ChairsI knew the exact number because I had counted them three times.
Thirty-seven.
Thirty-seven empty white chairs stood in perfect rows inside the marina hall, all facing the gray water beyond the glass windows.
The morning had been beautiful.
By noon, it had become humiliating.
By two o'clock, I had stopped pretending I wasn't counting.
I stood near the entrance in my wedding dress, holding a clipboard against my stomach as if it could somehow shield me from the silence.
Thirty-seven chairs.
Thirty-seven absences.
And six people.
That was all.
Six guests had come to my wedding.
Six.
My mother had once told me that no daughter should ever have to choose between her wedding day and her family.
Apparently, she had forgotten to mention that the family might choose first.
I looked across the room.
Earl, Trevor's oldest employee, was sitting in the front row wearing the same navy shirt he'd worn at work for the last five years. Beside him was Mrs. Donnelly, Trevor's neighbor, who had brought a casserole because she insisted no wedding should have food without leftovers.
There was Trevor's sister, Nina.
His uncle Ray.
And an elderly couple from the marina who had known Trevor since he was nineteen.
That was everyone.
No parents.
No sister.
No aunts.
No cousins.
No childhood friends from my side of the family.
Just six people.
And the empty chairs.
Trevor came up behind me.
He didn't ask what I was looking at.
He already knew.
“You're counting them again.”
I swallowed.
“Thirty-seven.”
“I know.”
“I thought at least some of them would come.”
He gently took the clipboard from my hands.
“They decided not to.”
I stared at the chairs.
“My mother didn't even call.”
“She did.”
I turned.
“When?”
“Eight this morning.”
My chest tightened.
“What did she say?”
Trevor hesitated.
Then he looked away.
“She asked if we could postpone the ceremony.”
I laughed.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
It was the kind of sound a person made when something hurt so badly that crying felt too obvious.
“Of course she did.”
Trevor stepped closer.
“You don't owe anyone today.”
I looked down at my dress.
It was not expensive.
There was no designer name sewn into it.
I'd found it on sale six months earlier and loved it because the lace sleeves reminded me of the dress my grandmother wore in her wedding photograph.
Trevor's suit came from a local store.
The flowers were from a grocery shop.
There were no champagne towers.
No celebrity photographer.
No fireworks.
No rented ballroom overlooking the skyline.
Just water outside, food inside, flowers in glass jars, and the man I loved standing in front of me.
I should have been happy.
And I was.
Just not completely.
Because somewhere across the city, my little sister was having the celebration my family had apparently decided mattered more.
Khloe.
My beautiful, charming, impossible little sister.
She had always been the favorite.
When we were children, my mother framed Khloe's drawings.
Mine went on the refrigerator.
When Khloe played soccer, my father left work early.
When I graduated top of my class, my parents said, “That's wonderful, Audrey.”
When Khloe announced she had a new boyfriend, my mother bought flowers.
And when Khloe introduced Victor Vance, my parents practically threw a parade.
Victor had arrived in a black luxury sedan.
He wore an expensive watch.
He spoke loudly.
He shook my father's hand as though they were already business partners.
He told everyone he was a real estate developer.
My mother whispered to me that evening, “He is going to make Khloe's life extraordinary.”
I had smiled.
“That's good.”
But I had noticed something.
Trevor noticed it too.
Victor never answered simple questions.
What properties did he own?
He changed the subject.
What projects was he developing?
He laughed.
What company did he work for?
He handed people a card with a gold logo and said, “We're expanding.”
Nobody seemed bothered.
My father was impressed.
My mother was dazzled.
Khloe was in love.
So naturally, every warning sounded like jealousy.
Three weeks before my wedding, the invitations went out.
My mother called me.
“Audrey, we have a small problem.”
“What?”
“Khloe's engagement party is the same weekend as your wedding.”
“That's not a problem. You can attend both.”
Silence.
Then she said, “Victor has arranged something very important.”
I closed my eyes.
“Mother, my wedding date has been set for ten months.”
“I know.”
“Khloe's party was planned recently.”
“I know that too.”
“So?”
“He has invited some very important people.”
I almost laughed.
“And my wedding doesn't?”
“You're being difficult.”
“No. I'm being married.”
That conversation ended badly.
Then came the cancellations.
Aunt Cheryl.
My cousins.
Two uncles.
A childhood friend.
Then more.
One after another, people sent messages.
“Something came up.”
“Family emergency.”
“I'm so sorry.”
“We'll celebrate with you another time.”
By Friday night, I knew.
They weren't coming.
They had chosen Khloe.
Still, when I woke on my wedding morning, some stupid part of me hoped my mother might surprise me.
She didn't.
At three o'clock, I walked down the aisle.
Six people watched.
Trevor stood beneath an arch made of grocery-store flowers.
His eyes filled with tears when he saw me.
And at that moment, thirty-seven empty chairs disappeared.
There was only him.
The vows were simple.
Real.
When he promised to stand beside me when life became difficult, he didn't know how soon he would have to prove it.
We kissed.
People clapped.
I laughed through my tears.
Then the cake arrived.
It was small.
Three layers.
White frosting.
Little sugar flowers.
No initials.
No elaborate decorations.
Trevor handed me the knife.
“Ready?”
I smiled.
“As I'll ever be.”
I placed my hand over his.
We pushed the knife into the cake.
My phone vibrated.
I ignored it.
Then again.
Then again.
Trevor looked at me.
“Your phone.”
“I don't care.”
It vibrated six more times.
Finally, Nina picked it up.
She looked at the screen.
Her expression changed.
“Audrey.”
“What?”
“It's your mother.”
I sighed.
“Let it go.”
Then Nina looked at the next message.
Her face went pale.
“What does it say?”
She handed me the phone.
Three missed calls from Mom.
Two from Dad.
Four from Aunt Cheryl.
Then messages.
Audrey, pick up.
Everything is falling apart.
Call your father NOW.
Then another.
Khloe is hysterical.
My fingers went cold.
I looked at Trevor.
He wasn't surprised.
That frightened me more than the messages.
“What do you know?”
Trevor took a breath.
“There is something I should have told you before today.”
“What?”
He glanced toward the empty chairs.
“About Victor.”
I frowned.
“What about Victor?”
Trevor lowered his voice.
“Three weeks ago, he came to my marina.”
I waited.
“He tried to rent one of my boats.”
“So?”
“He gave me a business check.”
Trevor looked directly at me.
“The check bounced.”
I stared.
“He said it was a banking mistake. Then he gave me another one.”
“And?”
“That one bounced too.”
My stomach tightened.
Trevor continued.
“So I checked the company on the card he gave me.”
“And?”
“That company doesn't exist.”
The cake knife was still in my hand.
The music had stopped.
I could hear the water outside.
Then my phone began ringing again.
This time the caller ID said:
MOM.
I answered.
And the first thing I heard was screaming.
Not crying.
Not panic.
Screaming.
Then my father's voice.
Then a man's voice in the background.
Then someone shouted:
“Put your hands where I can see them!”
My mother screamed my name.
“Audrey! Please!”
And then the line went dead.
I looked at Trevor.
He had already reached for his phone.
“What happened?”
Trevor's jaw tightened.
“I think Victor just got arrested.”
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
Not from my mother.
Not from my father.
Not from Khloe.
It came from an unknown number.
May you like
There was only one sentence.
Your family chose the wrong man. And now they're going to learn why.
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