That hurt worse than anything.
I held her face in both hands. “Look at me, baby.”
She shook her head.
“Christie. Look at me.”
Slowly, she did.
“I believe you,” I said. “Before he says one word, before anyone explains anything, I believe you.”
A knock sounded at the door.
All three of us froze.
“Juliet?” Moses called from the hallway. “Is Christie in there?”
Christie grabbed my arm. “Don’t let him in.”
Jasmine stood and locked the door.
“Juliet,” Moses called again, sharper now. “Open up, sweetheart. We need to handle this as a family. I’m sure Christie has told you some nonsense by now.”
I stood. My knees shook, but my voice didn’t.
“Step away from the door, Moses.”
A small laugh came from the other side. “Honey, don’t let her get worked up. The ceremony starts soon. Are you ready?”
Christie folded in on herself.
That’s when something inside me changed.
I picked up my phone.
Jasmine stared at me. “Security?”
“No,” I said. “The police.”
When the dispatcher answered, I gave the venue address and said, “My fifteen-year-old daughter was cornered and intimidated by an adult male on the property. He’s still here, and she is visibly shaken. I need officers here to remove him and take a report.”
Moses knocked again. “Juliet? What are you doing in there?”
“Nothing, Moses. We’ll be out soon.”
When the officers arrived, guests were whispering.
Moses stood near the bridal suite, calm and wounded. He made control look like concern.
“Officers,” he said smoothly. “This is a family misunderstanding. My fiancée is under a lot of pressure. And you know how kids will do anything to get attention.”
“Don’t speak for me, Moses,” I said.
One officer turned to me. “Ma’am, you made the call?”
“I did.”
“What happened?”
“My daughter told me Moses intimidated her last night. He closed the door, stood in front of it, and told her she was being sent to boarding school after our honeymoon. He said I knew. I didn’t.”
Moses sighed. “Christie has been struggling with the wedding. I suggested that an academic environment might help her adjust.”
Christie stepped behind Jasmine, pale but upright. “You called me leftover baggage.”
The hallway went silent.
Moses’s jaw tightened. “I never said that!”
“Yes, you did.”
He looked at me. “She’s a child, Juliet.”
“She’s my child.”
“And she needs structure. You run your house like a teenage party,” he snapped.
There it was, not loud, not wild, just enough of the real man showing.
The venue manager looked at me. “Juliet, do you want him removed from the property?”
Moses stared at me.
I looked at Christie. “Yes. I do.”
“You’re ending our relationship over this?” Moses demanded.
“No,” I said. “I’m ending it because my daughter told me the truth.”
While the officers kept him in the hall, I went into the venue manager’s office and shut the door.
It took three tries to search the school Christie had named.
I called admissions, verified my identity, and gave Christie’s name.
“Is there a file for her?” I asked.
A woman paused. “Yes, ma’am. I see an enrollment file for the fall term.”
“I never enrolled her.”
“The application was submitted by someone named Moses.”
“He isn’t her legal guardian.”
“I understand.”
“Was money paid?”
There was another pause. “Yes. A deposit was paid to secure the spot.”
“When was the deposit paid?” I asked, though something in me already knew the answer.
“Six months ago.”
