Chapter 2

The dinner plates were cleared.

A string quartet played something soft and forgettable.

Ethan stood up, tapped his glass for attention.

"My beautiful bride, Olivia," he began, his voice smooth, practiced.

He spoke of love, destiny, the future.

Words he' d once said to me.

I felt a cold echo, nothing more. Pain was a luxury for the living.

Olivia looked down at her hands, clasped in her lap.

When Ethan finished his speech, full of charm and lies, Olivia remained seated.

The room waited.

She was supposed to say something, a few words of thanks.

Instead, she took a slow breath.

Her eyes scanned the room, lingering for a moment on Mr. and Mrs. Miller, then on Ethan.

She looked conflicted, yes, but also... determined.

"Thank you, Ethan," she said, her voice clearer than I expected, with a faint Maine accent they were probably trying to erase.

"And thank you all for being here."

A polite pause.

Then, "Before we continue with the celebration, I have something to share."

A ripple of curiosity went through the guests.

Ethan frowned slightly. This wasn' t in the script.

"It' s a... final message. From Sarah."

My name.

Spoken aloud in this room.

A hush fell.

Mr. Miller looked alarmed. Mrs. Miller' s smile froze.

Ethan' s hand tightened on Olivia' s arm, hidden by the tablecloth. I saw it.

"Olivia, darling, perhaps this isn' t the time or place," Ethan said, his voice still smooth, but with an edge.

"No, Ethan," Olivia said, pulling her arm free. "It is exactly the time and place."

She held up a small, sleek USB drive.

"Sarah sent me this. Anonymously. A link to her private online journal and some voice memos."

My breath, if I' d had any, would have hitched.

My journal.

"She left instructions," Olivia continued, her gaze steady. "She said if I ever truly doubted you, Ethan, or if I wanted to know the truth... I should share this."

Ethan' s face was a mask, but his eyes were cold.

"This is ridiculous. Sarah was a troubled girl. Her words can' t be trusted."

"We' ll see," Olivia said.

She nodded to a technician who had discreetly set up a projector and screen earlier, supposedly for a wedding slideshow.

"I listened to it all last night," Olivia said, her voice dropping slightly. "And I alerted the police. They are waiting outside."

Panic flickered in Ethan' s eyes.

Mr. Miller started to rise. "Olivia, what is the meaning of this?"

"The meaning, Father," Olivia said, using the term formally, "is that we' re all about to hear Sarah' s side of the story."

The screen lit up.

The first page of my journal.

My handwriting.

My words.

From beyond the grave.