Lincoln\u2019s face changed so slightly that anyone else might have missed it. His shoulders tightened beneath the navy security jacket, and whatever humor had been in his eyes disappeared. The stranger in the dark suit stood patiently beside us, hands clasped in front of him, as if calling a security guard \u201cMr. Lincoln\u201d were the most ordinary thing in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell him I\u2019m busy,\u201d Lincoln said.<\/p>\n
The man glanced at me before answering. \u201cHe said you might say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the conversation has already happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLincoln,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA colleague of my father\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stranger did not correct him, but something about his expression made me suspect colleague was doing as much work as the word business had when Lincoln described his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father has colleagues who arrive in chauffeured sedans?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln glanced through the glass doors. \u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat car costs more than my apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour apartment is overpriced.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot helping.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stranger almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Lincoln sighed. \u201cGive us a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man moved toward the elevators. Lincoln led me to a quieter corner near a marble column where evening commuters passed without paying attention. I could still feel Dad\u2019s check inside my handbag. Until five minutes earlier, that had seemed like the largest secret or insult in my life. Now Lincoln was avoiding my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father heard something involving Kendrick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know enough yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCross Global?\u201d<\/p>\n
His silence answered before he did.<\/p>\n
I folded my arms. \u201cYou know people there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father has connections.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was technically an answer and obviously incomplete.<\/p>\n
\u201cLincoln, I am marrying you in three weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m aware.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. Then this is a useful moment to stop talking to me like I\u2019m a stranger asking questions at your security desk.\u201d<\/p>\n
His mouth tightened. \u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
He looked toward the stranger, then back at me. \u201cMy father has known Richard Cross a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me. Richard Cross was not merely wealthy. His company controlled investments, logistics firms, technology businesses and commercial holdings spread across several countries. Kendrick had been invoking his name at family dinners for months as though proximity to Cross Global would validate everything he wanted people to believe about himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you never mentioned that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think it mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt matters now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln looked at the check still protruding slightly from my bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Kendrick may be promising people something he doesn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence landed heavily.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of thing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to talk to my father before I say more.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated that answer. More than that, I hated how carefully Lincoln delivered it. He was not confused. He was protecting information.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you in trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Kendrick?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Chelsea?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes shifted.<\/p>\n
That frightened me more than anything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cLincoln.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI truly don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stranger returned a few minutes later and handed Lincoln a phone. Lincoln walked several steps away while I watched him speak quietly. Most of his answers were single words. Yes. No. Understood. Once he turned and looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
When the call ended, he returned the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
He touched my elbow. \u201cNothing that changes us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is exactly what people say when something is about to change everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
He almost smiled, but couldn\u2019t manage it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll call you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he left with the stranger.<\/p>\n
For the first time since meeting Lincoln, I watched him climb into a car that belonged to a world he had always claimed was not his.<\/p>\n
The next morning, Chelsea sent our family group chat a photograph of the Harbor Grand ballroom. Crystal chandeliers hung above white tables. A temporary stage occupied one end. She had hired a company to construct a wall of fresh flowers behind the main table.<\/p>\n
Mom replied with six heart emojis.<\/p>\n
Dad wrote, Impressive.<\/p>\n
I stared at the screen over breakfast until my coffee cooled.<\/p>\n
Then Chelsea added another message.<\/p>\n
Final count 312.<\/p>\n
My wedding had forty-eight people on the original guest list.<\/p>\n
By that morning, nineteen had declined.<\/p>\n
I put my phone facedown.<\/p>\n
Lincoln arrived twenty minutes later carrying a paper bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a key,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou looked like someone who deserved warning before another human entered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorse.\u201d<\/p>\n
He placed two breakfast sandwiches on the counter and poured himself coffee. He was wearing jeans and a gray sweater rather than his uniform. There were shadows beneath his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither did you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did your father say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln unwrapped his sandwich but didn\u2019t eat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Kendrick has been approaching people connected to Cross Global.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApproaching them how?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAsking about investment strategy. Personnel. Internal decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds inappropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may be more than inappropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited for him to continue.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes your father work for Cross Global?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer came quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he knows Richard Cross.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow well?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n
I rubbed my forehead. \u201cYou understand how strange this sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen help me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He leaned against the counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father believes Kendrick has been telling potential investors that Cross Global intends to put significant capital into his new fund.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Kendrick told Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he show your father paperwork?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Howard invest?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln finally took a bite, chewing slowly while he thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want me to call the man who tried to buy me out of my marriage yesterday and ask whether my brother-in-law has involved him in questionable investments?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you say it like that, perhaps wait until lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gave him a look.<\/p>\n
He smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
There he was again. My Lincoln. Except now I could see the edges of something else beneath the familiar surface.<\/p>\n
Dad answered on the third ring.<\/p>\n
I put the call on speaker without telling him Lincoln was listening.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you invest money with Kendrick?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood morning to you too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is none of your concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHas he told you Cross Global is backing his fund?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
Lincoln watched the phone.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s voice changed. \u201cWhy are you asking?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I heard something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnswer me first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbigail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
He exhaled. \u201cKendrick has relationships you don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is in advanced discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Richard Cross?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not discussing confidential business matters with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln wrote something on a napkin and pushed it toward me.<\/p>\n
Ask if he has a commitment letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have a commitment letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad stopped breathing for half a second.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would you know about that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln\u2019s eyes sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, is it real?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course it\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you verified it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKendrick is family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s irritation returned. \u201cThis is precisely why you have no business involving yourself in these matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln reached over and muted the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t push him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if Kendrick fabricated documents, we don\u2019t want him knowing anyone is suspicious.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at Lincoln.<\/p>\n
He realized what he had said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe?\u201d<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes briefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is we?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You don\u2019t get to do that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s voice came faintly from the muted phone. \u201cAbigail? Are you there?\u201d<\/p>\n
I ended the call.<\/p>\n
Lincoln sat opposite me.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rubbed both hands over his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father asked me to look into Kendrick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore my father offered me money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Chelsea moved her vow renewal onto my wedding date?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long have you known something was wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know. I suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are different words, Lincoln, not different answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He absorbed that without arguing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral investors were shown materials implying Cross Global had committed funding. I haven\u2019t confirmed where the documents originated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been investigating my brother-in-law.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t begin because he was your brother-in-law.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln looked at me for a long moment.<\/p>\n
Then his phone rang.<\/p>\n
He checked the screen and stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to take this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
He walked toward the window.<\/p>\n
I watched his reflection rather than his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cSend me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho authorized it?\u201d<\/p>\n
His posture changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Don\u2019t contact Kendrick.\u201d<\/p>\n
He listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said don\u2019t contact him.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he hung up, he remained facing the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKendrick has scheduled a private presentation during the vow renewal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestors.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt something cold move through me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Chelsea\u2019s ceremony isn\u2019t really about their anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s both.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd my wedding?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChelsea kept saying my wedding would interfere. That people couldn\u2019t be divided. That it would make the family look unstable.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wasn\u2019t worried about relatives choosing between two ceremonies. She needed everyone important in one ballroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe needed Dad there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKendrick needed Dad there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCredibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer made perfect sense.<\/p>\n
Howard Mercer owned a respected commercial-property company and had spent decades cultivating a reputation for caution. If he publicly supported Kendrick\u2019s fund, other investors might assume he had verified it.<\/p>\n
My father had been turned into a reference without realizing it.<\/p>\n
And my sister had turned her anniversary into a sales event.<\/p>\n
My wedding had merely been inconvenient.<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
A message from Mom.<\/p>\n
Please reconsider Saturday. Your father is very upset. We can still fix this.<\/p>\n
I showed Lincoln.<\/p>\n
He read it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGet married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat part I knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean exactly as planned.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo changes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened the family group chat.<\/p>\n
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.<\/p>\n
Then I wrote:<\/p>\n
Lincoln and I will be married Saturday at eleven as planned. I understand that many of you have chosen Chelsea and Kendrick\u2019s event instead. I won\u2019t ask again. I won\u2019t argue. I won\u2019t reschedule. Anyone who wants to be there knows where the church is.<\/p>\n
I pressed send.<\/p>\n
For thirty seconds nobody responded.<\/p>\n
Then Chelsea called.<\/p>\n
I declined.<\/p>\n
She called again.<\/p>\n
Declined.<\/p>\n
Mom called.<\/p>\n
Declined.<\/p>\n
Dad wrote three words.<\/p>\n
This is foolish.<\/p>\n
I looked at Lincoln.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently I\u2019m foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve suspected it for months.\u201d<\/p>\n
I threw a napkin at him.<\/p>\n
He caught it.<\/p>\n
Then, unexpectedly, his smile vanished.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He was looking at his phone.<\/p>\n
A new message had appeared.<\/p>\n
I could see only part of it.<\/p>\n
R. Cross arriving personally Saturday.<\/p>\n
Lincoln locked the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is R. Cross?\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not answer quickly enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard Cross?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is a billionaire coming to Chelsea\u2019s vow renewal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe isn\u2019t coming for Chelsea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKendrick?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt my pulse accelerate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens when he gets there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln looked toward the rain streaking the windows.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends on what Kendrick says in that ballroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three weeks later, on the morning of my wedding, twenty-seven chairs on my side of the church were empty.<\/p>\n
But before I ever reached the church, a black luxury sedan arrived outside my apartment.<\/p>\n
The driver stepped onto the sidewalk, checked my name, and said something that made me grip the doorway.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Mercer, I\u2019ve been sent to take you to Mr. Lincoln.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cSent by whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
The driver opened the rear door.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis employer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln\u2019s face changed so slightly that anyone else might have missed it. His shoulders tightened beneath the navy security jacket, and whatever humor had been in his eyes disappeared. The … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9022,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9002\/revisions\/9022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}