Chapter 6 - Leaving the Altar BehindThe car screeched to a halt in a commercial loading zone directly across from the intersection of Broad and High Street.
The downtown business district was bustling with pedestrians—office workers in grey suits, tourists, and street vendors. The stark contrast between the gritty urban reality and Elise’s extravagant white wedding dress was immediate. As she stepped out of the sports car, heads turned instantly. A bride running down a dirty city sidewalk in full regalia was not a common sight.
"Elise, wait!" David called out, throwing his jacket into the back seat and sprinting to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm as she reached the corner. "Look around. We don't have a specific address. Just a street corner from a photograph."
Elise scanned the crowded sidewalk, her eyes darting from face to face. "The girl said Clara Vance was the one who brought her to the venue. She must have a vehicle. She must be waiting for a sign that I opened the locket."
Suddenly, a sharp horn blared from a dark blue sedan parked illegally near a fire hydrant fifty feet down the block.
The driver's side window rolled down slowly. An older woman with sharp, intelligent features and short, cropped grey hair looked directly at Elise. She didn't look surprised to see a bride in the middle of downtown. She looked relieved.
"Elise!" the woman called out, her voice carrying a distinct, authoritative rasp. "Get in the car. Quickly. You’re being followed."
David stepped in front of Elise, his protective instincts kicking in. "Who are you? Are you Clara Vance?"
"I am," the woman said, her eyes shifting rapidly to the rearview mirror of her sedan. "And if you want Eleanor to survive the night, you will both get into this vehicle right now. Your father’s security team just left the chapel parking lot two minutes after you did. They tracked your vehicle's GPS."
David’s blood ran cold. He looked down at his sports car. He had forgotten that the vehicle was registered under the Thorne-Vance corporate fleet—a fleet fully monitored by Elise’s father’s corporate security apparatus.
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"She’s right," David muttered, grabbing Elise's hand and pulling her toward the blue sedan. "The car is hot. Let's go."
They scrambled into the back seat of Clara's car, Elise’s massive dress filling the entire rear cabin like an expanding airbag. Before the doors were even fully latched, Clara slammed her foot onto the accelerator, pulling the sedan into the flow of traffic just as a heavy black SUV with tinted windows turned sharply onto Broad Street behind them.
