I locked myself in the downstairs bathroom, my hands shaking violently as I dialed Margaret’s number. She picked up on the third ring. I didn’t even say hello. “Margaret, I need you to text me that photo of the woman who scammed Tommy. Right now.”
A minute later, my phone buzzed. I pulled up the image. There she was. Lighter hair, no blue contacts, but the exact same nose, the same jawline, the same distinctive birthmark just below her left collarbone. I zoomed in on the photo, then thought about the low-cut summer dress ‘Danielle’ was wearing out in my dining room. The birthmark was there.
I took a deep breath, fighting the urge to throw up, and marched back into the dining room.
Xavier was holding her hand, looking at her like she hung the moon. “Mom, Danielle was just telling us about this beautiful venue she found for the wedding. They need a huge deposit upfront, but…”
“Oh, really?” I interrupted, my voice dangerously calm. I walked right up to the table and slammed my phone face-up right next to Danielle’s plate. The photo of her was glaring up at all of us. “Is it the same venue you booked with Tommy six months ago? Or did you pick a new one for my son?”
The silence in the room was deafening.
Xavier frowned, looking from the phone to his fiancée. “Mom, what is this? Danielle, who is Tommy?”
Danielle’s entire demeanor shifted in a split second. The shy, hunched, sweet girl completely vanished. Her posture straightened, her eyes turned ice-cold, and her jaw set. She didn’t say a single word. She just slowly pushed her chair back, grabbed her designer purse—probably bought with Tommy’s money—and stood up.
“Danielle? What’s going on?” Xavier’s voice was cracking now, pure panic setting in. “Where are you going?”
