Chapter 3 - THE WHITE DRESSWhy choose a white dress?
Nathan couldn't stop thinking about it.
Vanessa owned dozens of gowns.
Why something bright enough to visibly stain?
Then Thomas found the purchase.
Not simply a dress.
A custom gown.
Delivered three days before the party.
Receipt forwarded to Eleanor's personal assistant.
Eleanor paid for it.
Nathan stared.
His mother bought Vanessa the gown.
Why?
Vanessa later claimed it was a birthday gift.
For Eleanor's own birthday party?
Possible.
Odd.
Then the assistant came forward.
“She told me Mrs. Cole needed something ‘dramatic.’”
“Dramatic?”
“Yes.”
Nathan looked at Thomas.
Another piece.
Not proof alone.
Pattern.
Then Mia said something unexpected during a child interview.
“Vanessa told me to bring juice.”
Nathan froze.
Who had she been bringing it to?
Vanessa.
So Mia wasn't randomly crossing the ballroom.
Vanessa instructed her to bring the drink.
Then stood in her path.
The spill wasn't an accident.
Mia had been used as a prop.
That realization broke something in Nathan.
Not because he loved Vanessa.
He didn't know what he felt anymore.
But because she had created a situation where a five-year-old was guaranteed to fail.
Then punished her for failing.
For a photograph.
For witnesses.
For leverage.
Nathan remembered the note.
Make him react.
The setup wasn't merely about Mia spilling juice.
It was about Nathan seeing the slap.
Eleanor knew her son.
Vanessa knew her husband.
They both knew he would explode.
He had.
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The plan worked.
Almost.
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