Chapter 6: The Woman in Yellow
Claire enlarged the image until it became blurry.
The woman’s face was partly hidden behind a floral arrangement.
But Daniel recognized the coat.
“It belonged to Lily.”
“Could someone else have it?”
“The police returned her belongings to Victoria.”
Claire looked at him.
“Why Victoria?”
“She handled Lily’s estate.”
Daniel called the wedding photographer and requested every photograph taken inside the church.
Most showed nothing unusual.
Then they found one from the balcony.
The woman in yellow stood near the side exit.
Her head was turned toward the camera.
Her face remained hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat, but one hand rested against the wall.
A thin scar crossed her wrist.
Daniel stopped breathing.
Lily had received that scar at age twelve after falling through a greenhouse window.
“It’s her,” he whispered.
Claire wanted to believe him.
But eleven months had passed.
If Lily was alive, why had she abandoned Ethan?
Why appear at the wedding without speaking to Daniel?
Why hide a warning inside a ring pillow?
Their search was interrupted when a court notice arrived.
Victoria’s emergency custody hearing had been scheduled for Monday.
She claimed Daniel’s marriage and the viral attention placed Ethan in danger.
She also claimed Claire had a history of instability.
“That’s a lie,” Daniel said.
Claire read the attached report.
It contained sealed details from her childhood counseling records.
Only one person outside her family knew about those sessions.
Her late father’s attorney.
That evening, Claire called him.
The number had been disconnected.
Minutes later, she received a message from an unknown sender.
Your father knew Lily Parker. Search the photograph from 2009.
Attached was a picture of Claire’s father standing beside Lily.
May you like
Between them was Victoria.
And all three were arguing.
