Chapter 3

The next morning, Oliver showed up.

He wore the custom suit Shirley had made for him and a watch worth over sixty grand.

I'd seen the receipt in Shirley's safe once.

She told me it was for an important client.

Now it was on Oliver's wrist.

"Joe." Oliver set a fruit basket on the table and smiled. "What hospital is Nyssa at?"

Before I could answer, he dropped onto the couch.

"After the wedding, Shirley and I will go see her.

"Things have been so crazy, I barely sleep anymore."

Like Shirley helping plan his wedding was the most normal thing in the world.

I looked at the watch.

"New?"

Oliver brushed a thumb over the watch, smiling.

"Shirley gave it to me for my birthday last year.

"I tried to say no, but she said I needed a few nice things to make a good impression.

"You don't mind, right?"

"No."

Because I was taking every last thing back.

Oliver clearly didn't get it.

He pulled out his phone and started showing me wedding photos.

There were shots from the test drive, the suit fitting, and even an island trip where he and Shirley had filmed a pre-wedding video.

The photos were from three months ago.

Back then, Nyssa had spent a full week in the hospital after one asthma attack after another.

I'd asked Shirley for help.

She said something came up at work and she had to leave town.

So her "business trip" had actually been a beach getaway with Oliver.

In one photo, they stood together under the sunset.

Shirley was fixing his collar, looking at him like she was the bride.

In six years of marriage, Shirley had never once gone to the ocean with Nyssa and me.

And seeing the ocean had been Nyssa's dying wish.

But Shirley had already given that memory to another man.

I reached over and took the phone.

Oliver's face shifted.

Then the door flew open.

Shirley rushed in and yanked the phone from my hand.

"Who said you could go through Oliver's stuff?"

She stepped in front of him, shielding him.

Her eyes went cold.

Oliver grabbed her arm. "Shirley, don't be mad.

"Joe just saw our pictures and got a little upset."

He made it sound like he was defending me.

Really, he was making me look jealous and petty.

Shirley's face hardened.

"I helped Oliver with his wedding shoot because he didn't have family to help him.

"That was three months ago. Are you seriously still hung up on it?"

I looked at her. "Nyssa was in the hospital."

"She's always in the hospital. What was so different this time?"

Oliver gave me a helpless smile.

"Joe, Shirley only looks out for me because she made a promise to my parents. Don't make it into something it's not."

Shirley hooked her arm through his and led him out.

Before she left, she looked back at me.

"If you pull anything at the wedding, I'll never forgive you."

The door shut.

A second later, my lawyer, Daniel Spencer, sent me a file.

Over the past six years, Shirley had given Oliver luxury cars, watches, property, and cash worth more than $870,000.

Most of it came from our joint funds.

Then another message popped up.

[We have all the evidence. Do you want to move forward?]

I looked out the window.

Downstairs, Shirley opened the Maybach door for Oliver herself.

They smiled at each other.

I typed back slowly.

[Not yet. Wait until Oliver's wedding starts.]