Chapter 17 - Shadows at the Edge of the LawnThe reception was joyous and filled with laughter, clinking glasses, and dancing under the fairy lights.
As the night grew late and the guests began to wind down, I stepped away from the crowd for a moment to catch my breath, walking toward the quiet, shadowed edge of the property near the garden fence.
The cool night air felt refreshing against my skin.
Suddenly, a twig snapped in the dark woods just beyond our property line.
I stopped, my instincts immediately kicking in. "Hello? Is someone there?"
A slow, deliberate rustle echoed from the shadows. A figure stepped forward into the faint moonlight filtering through the trees.
It wasn't an intruder or a reporter. It was a man in a rumpled suit, looking haggard, exhausted, and desperately worn down.
Dr. Harrison.
My blood ran cold. Harrison was supposed to be awaiting federal trial in a maximum-security holding facility. How was he standing here?
"Dr. Brooks," Harrison rasped, a bitter, frantic smile twisting his features. "Surprised to see me? Did you really think Victoria was the only mastermind behind the curtain?"
I slowly reached into the pocket of my wedding dress, where my cell phone was tucked away on speed dial to Elias.
"You escaped custody," I said, keeping my voice chillingly steady, drawing on every ounce of my ER trauma training. "Or someone let you out. Either way, you're walking straight back into a federal penitentiary the second I scream for security."
Harrison took a step closer, his eyes wild and desperate. "I lost everything because of you! My license, my career, my freedom! And you're out here playing happy families in the hills?"
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Before he could lunge forward, heavy, rapid footsteps thundered across the grass behind me.
"Step away from my wife," Elias's voice boomed, sharp as a loaded weapon.
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