Chapter 4 - I Canceled the Honeymoon
The next morning, I canceled our honeymoon.
We were supposed to fly to St. Lucia.
Instead, I sat at my kitchen table with my wedding ring beside a cup of cold coffee while Sophie colored in the living room.
I contacted a family-law attorney.
Because Preston and I had been married for less than twenty-four hours, I wanted to understand my options rather than make assumptions about annulment, separation, or divorce.
The answer was less dramatic than television.
The marriage existed.
Ending it would require an actual legal process.
Meanwhile, the investigation into Sophie’s assault and the missing bracelet continued separately.
Preston left another voicemail.
This one was different.
“My mother was trying to stop something from happening after the wedding. Sophie was never supposed to get hurt.”
After the wedding.
That phrase mattered.
I began looking at the weeks before the ceremony.
Margaret had been strangely interested in my finances.
Did I still own my townhouse?
How much equity did I have?
Would Sophie’s college account remain separate?
Would Preston and I combine checking accounts?
I had treated the questions as intrusive mother-in-law behavior.
Then I remembered the prenuptial agreement.
Preston and I had signed one because both of us had assets from before the marriage.
Mine were modest but important: my townhouse, retirement savings, and a life-insurance settlement Sophie had received after her biological father died four years earlier.
Sophie’s money was held in a custodial account with restrictions.
Preston had no access to it.
Margaret disliked that arrangement.
She once called it “financially divisive.”
I called my financial adviser.
“Has anyone contacted you about Sophie’s account?”
A pause.
“Not successfully.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“Someone called last week claiming to be your future husband and asked what documentation would be required to add a second authorized adult.”
“Did you give them anything?”
“General information only. We told them Claire Bennett would have to contact us directly after the marriage.”
Preston had never mentioned that call.
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Now the missing bracelet looked less like a random wedding accusation.
Someone had been interested in gaining financial authority over my daughter before we even said our vows.
