Chapter 2: The Receipt Hidden in the Lace

I lunged forward and pulled Grace aside just as a tall champagne display toppled behind her.

Glass shattered across the grass, and the metal stand caught the train of her gown, tearing the lace near the hem.

“My dress!” Grace cried.

She turned on me instead of thanking me.

“Look what you did!”

“I just saved you from that display!”

As I bent to free the torn fabric, a folded receipt slipped from inside the lining.

I picked it up and saw the boutique’s name—and a date.

My hands began to shake.

“You ordered this gown the same afternoon you convinced me not to buy it.”

Grace’s face went pale.

“Give me that.”

Then I noticed something worse at the bottom of the receipt.

The deposit had been charged under my name.

“You didn’t borrow my money for another dress,” I whispered.

“You used it to finish paying for this one.”

Guests had started gathering around us.

Grace reached for the receipt, but a woman behind me said, “Don’t give it back, Hannah.

That isn’t the only thing she took from you.”

I turned and froze when I saw who was holding up her phone.