Chapter 2: What Phoebe Found in the Clerk's Office
The reception continued.
Luca worked the room like nothing had happened — shaking hands, accepting congratulations, laughing too loudly at his own jokes.
I excused myself to the restroom.
Phoebe was already there, holding a damp cloth and the envelope.
"Jessi." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"The recorder — did it get everything?"
"Every word," I said.
"Including Wendy."
Phoebe pressed her hand over her mouth.
Then she straightened.
"There's something else.
My cousin works at the county clerk's office." She paused.
"Luca filed paperwork two weeks ago.
He tried to have your company shares transferred into a joint trust — before the wedding."
I stared at her in the mirror.
"He needed your signature," I said slowly.
"He has it," Phoebe said.
"Jessi…
someone signed for you."
The door swung open behind us.
Wendy stood in the doorway.
Her smile was gone.
She looked at the envelope in Phoebe's hand.
Then she looked at me.
"I think," she said quietly, "you two should come back to the reception now."
It wasn't an invitation.
May you like
It was a warning.
And that was the moment I realized — Luca hadn't planned this alone.
