Rebecca glanced at my father before answering. “First, you do not confront him tonight. You do not text him anything emotional. You do not answer calls until we decide what serves your interests. Second, we preserve the recording properly. Third, we review the marriage certificate, the apartment purchase documents, and any financial transfers connected to Elias. Fourth, we find out whether Brenda’s pregnancy claim is true, and whether Elias has made any written admissions.”
My father’s voice was quiet. “And fifth, we make sure you are safe.”
“I’m not afraid of him,” I said quickly.
“I know.” He looked at me with the kind of tenderness that almost undid me again. “But people who feel exposed don’t always behave like the people we thought we knew.”
At that exact moment, my phone began to vibrate on the table.
Elias.
His name appeared over our wedding photo, a picture taken only hours earlier. In it, he was looking at me like I was the center of his life.
The phone rang until it stopped.
Then again.
Then a text appeared.
Where are you?
Another.
Ella, this isn’t funny.
Then:
My mom said she saw you leave. Did something happen?
I stared at the words, feeling strangely calm.
“He’s already adjusting the story,” Rebecca said.
My father reached for the phone, then stopped himself. “May I?”
I nodded.
He read the messages without expression.
“Do we answer?” I asked.
Rebecca shook her head. “Not yet. Silence is information. Let him show us who he becomes when he loses control of the script.”
By dawn, Elias had called seventeen times.
He left six voicemails.
The first one was confused and soft.
“Baby, where are you? I came upstairs and you weren’t there. I thought maybe you were joking, but it’s been an hour. Call me, okay?”
The second sounded irritated.
“Ella, come on. This is embarrassing. Mom is upset. Brenda’s still around because she was helping us, and now everyone thinks something happened.”
In the third, he was worried again.
“Please just tell me you’re safe.”
By the fifth, he had become someone else.
“If this is about nerves, you need to talk to me like an adult. You can’t just disappear on our wedding night.”
Rebecca listened to each one while making notes.
My father did not listen after the third. He stood by the window, staring out at the gardens as the sky turned from black to pearl-gray.
