CHAPTER 1

Today was the wedding day and Isabella's voice kept ringing in my ears, "Everything had to be perfect today." That was what she had told me last night.

I went to conduct a final check of the wedding hall just as she had instructed me to do, to ensure everything had been decorated the way she wanted it to be.

Everything had to be perfect, and not a single flower or chair out of place, if anything was out of place, Isabella would never let me live it down.

She would even go as far as accusing me of trying to ruin her perfect wedding day and that couldn't be any farther from the truth, I was nothing but happy for her.

She was my only sister, though we didn't have the same parents, as I was adopted from the orphanage when I was little, it still didn't change anything. 

Isabella hadn't accepted me as her sister yet, she never failed to remind me of where I was from every chance she got, but I would continue to support her in everything. I was more than happy to help too.

I was still examining the flower arrangements of the hall and taking pictures of the hall when the large doors leading to the ballroom opened and they hit the wall with a large thud which echoed quite loudly through the room. 

I was startled, but quickly composed myself and turned around and watched as one of Isabella's bridesmaid ran frantically into the room, her eyes darted round the room at first but the moment they landed on me, she came charging at me.

"Hey you! You're that girl that lives with Isabella right?" She yelled out. 

I inwardly rolled my eyes. This girl was one of Isabella's childhood friends, so I knew without a doubt in me that she knew me and she knew my name as well. I had reminded and corrected her several times but it seemed she was just not ready to listen. 

She was a little out of breath by the time she reached me, so she had to press her hand to my shoulders to support herself while she took deep breaths.

I read her body language and coupled with the look on her face, I immediately sensed that something was up and I asked her, "What's wrong?" I asked with a little hesitation on my part as well.

Much like what we watched in movies, something was always bound to go wrong on a wedding day, it was inevitable, but that was why I was here, I was on standby to do damage control, no matter what it was. 

"Isabella! Isabella!!" She chanted my sister's name nonstop and panic rose up in my chest at the mention of Isabella's name.

"What's wrong Avery? What's wrong with Isabella? Did something happen? Talk to me." I questioned her nonstop, shook her and forced her to look at me. 

"She's gone." Those were the words that came out of her mouth.

It felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped on my head the moment those words left her mouth, I felt like I was tripping, almost like the ground had been pulled out from under my feet.

"What do you mean she's gone?" I asked Avery, all the composure I had been keeping from the moment she entered the room, they were slowly slipping away.

I needed answers but Avery wasn't understanding that as she was still trying to regulate her breathing, I had no time for this, my patience was wearing thin so I harshly gripped her elbow and forced her to look at me, "Talk to me Avery, where's my sister? Where is Isabella?" 

I practically roared in her face. 

"We can't find her." Was the only explanation she could offer, but I was going to need more than just that.

"What do you mean she disappeared? We all saw her last night."

I commented, going into full detective mode.

What I was talking about was the crazy and extravagant bridal shower Isabella's friends had thrown her just last night, I wasn't invited but I saw all the craziness they engaged in on their Snapchat stories.

There had been lots of alcohol of course and widely inappropriate things like a male strip club, they were things her future husband must never hear about. 

I was surprised by how they were all able to function properly without hangovers this morning, I knew that was partly because I insisted that they should take an hangover cure even before the hangover, when they came home drunk and wasted. 

I was sure Isabella wouldn't be pleased if one of her bridesmaids tripped and fell on the aisle all because she was still hangover.

"I have to get to the bottom of this." I said to Avery and stormed out of the ballroom.

I dialled Isabella's number, I knew I was the last person she'd want to talk to on a day like this even if she was experiencing cold feet, but I still had to try. 

I was yet to actually confirm what was going on but Isabella could need my help right now for all I knew, so I wasn't going to stop.

I went into what was supposed to be her dressing room and there I found the rest of her bridesmaids, all five of them, dressed and ready to walk down the aisle, she hadn't even included me in her bridal train, but the only thing or person missing in this case was the bride herself.

"Where is Isabella?" I asked generally, throwing the question to no one in particular. They all just turned and gave me questioning looks, no one was ready to answer me.

"And who are you?" Someone fired at me, I knew she was intentionally doing it but now wasn't the time to be messing around, the wedding was going to start any moment from now and there was still no bride.

I swallowed my words and decided to focus on the problem at hand instead, "You all know me as Isabella's sister, my name is Helen for those who don't remember. Now can someone please explain what's going on? Why isn't Isabella here already?"

One of them finally stepped forward to answer the question I asked. 

"We all don't understand what's going on as well. We had a good time at the bridal shower and when we woke up this morning, we started getting ready. Bella's room was locked when we decided to check up on her but we managed to get a key to her room, on opening the door and going inside, she wasn't there, her room was empty, except for this note we found on her bed." She outstretched her hands and there was a small envelope sitting in her hands.