PART 4 — THE FAVOR

The man on the other end of the line was quiet for so long that Emma thought the call had dropped.

“Emma,” he finally said. “It’s been almost a year. You told me not to contact you again.”

“I know.” She sat on the edge of the bed, one hand resting on the wedding dress. “I’m not asking you to fix my life. I’m asking you to look at one document and tell me if it’s real.”

“What kind of document?”

“A termination agreement. It has Julian’s signature. Dated today. Filed this morning. I need to know if the signature is forged and if the filing can be challenged before six o’clock.”

Another pause.

“You’re still with him.”

“I was supposed to marry him today.”

The man exhaled. “Send me the pH๏τo. And the number that texted you. I’ll see what I can do. But Emma… if his family is already moving this fast, they’re not going to stop because one document looks wrong.”

“I know,” she said. “Just tell me if I have anything.”

She hung up, forwarded the images, and set the phone down. The apartment was silent except for the low hum of the refrigerator. Outside, the dark car was still parked across the street. Julian’s car had not moved.

At 4:17 p.m. her phone rang. Same number.

“The signature is forged,” the man said without greeting. “The pressure patterns don’t match any of the samples I still have from when I handled his company’s contracts last year. The notary stamp is also wrong. It’s a real stamp, but it belongs to a notary who retired eight months ago. Someone reused it.”

Emma closed her eyes. “Can it be stopped?”

“Not by six o’clock. The filing is already in the system. You can challenge it, but that takes days, not hours. And if they release it publicly tomorrow, the damage is done before any judge looks at it.”

“So there’s nothing.”

“There’s one thing.” He hesitated. “You and Julian filed a marriage license three weeks ago. Correct?”

“Yes.”

“Did either of you sign anything else that day? Any other form at the clerk’s office?”

Emma thought back. The clerk had been busy. Julian had filled out most of the paperwork while she waited. There had been one extra page. He had signed it quickly and slid it back across the counter before she could read it.

“There was something,” she said. “He said it was just a confirmation form.”

“Do you still have a copy?”

“No. He kept it.”

The man was quiet again.

“Emma, if that form was a confidential marriage declaration, some counties allow couples to complete the marriage the same day they file the license, without a ceremony, as long as both parties sign and a clerk witnesses it. It’s rare. Most people don’t know it exists. But if Julian signed one that day, and if the clerk accepted it, then you may already be married. A termination agreement filed weeks later wouldn’t undo it.”

Emma’s hand тιԍнтened on the dress.

“He never told me that.”

“Maybe he was waiting for today. Or maybe he was trying to protect you from exactly what’s happening now. Either way, you need to find out if that form exists before six o’clock. Because if it does, the forged document means nothing.”

She ended the call and sat still for a full minute. Then she stood, walked to the window, and looked down. Julian was leaning against his car, phone in his hand, watching the building. The man in the suit was still there too, farther down the block.

Emma picked up her keys.

The Street

She stepped outside at 4:41 p.m. The air was cooler than it had been that morning. Julian saw her immediately and straightened. The man in the suit lowered his phone and watched her cross the street.

Julian met her halfway.

“You came out.”

“I need to ask you something,” she said. “And I need the truth. No protecting me. No deciding what I can handle.”

He nodded once.

“Three weeks ago, at the clerk’s office, when we filed the marriage license, you signed an extra form. You told me it was a confirmation. What was it really?”

Julian’s expression changed. He glanced toward the man watching them, then back at her.

“It was a same-day marriage declaration,” he said quietly. “The clerk explained it while you were in the restroom. She said if both parties signed and she witnessed it, the marriage would be legal that day. No ceremony required. I signed my part. I was going to tell you after the wedding. I wanted you to have the day you planned. I didn’t want my mother to be able to stop it if she found out.”

Emma stared at him.

“You married me three weeks ago and didn’t tell me.”

“I signed a form that made it possible. You still had to sign. You never did. So no, we’re not married. But the form is still in the clerk’s system. If you sign it before they process the termination, it might still be valid. The clerk said the declaration stays open for thirty days.”

Emma’s voice was low. “Why didn’t you tell me this morning?”

“Because I thought we were getting married in front of everyone. I didn’t think I would need it. And because I was afraid you would think I went behind your back.”

She looked past him at the man in the suit, who was now walking slowly toward them.

“We have less than an hour,” she said. “If we go to the clerk’s office right now, can we still sign it?”

“I don’t know. But we can try.”

The man in the suit stopped a few feet away. He didn’t smile.

“Miss Reyes. Mr. Whitmore. Mrs. Whitmore asked me to remind you that the ᴅᴇᴀᴅline is six o’clock. Any attempt to file additional documents today will be noted.”

Julian turned to him. “Noted by who?”

“By the people who already have the termination agreement ready for release. And by the bank that processed the transfer to Mrs. Elena Reyes yesterday. They would prefer this stay quiet. So would you.”

Emma met the man’s eyes.

“Tell Mrs. Whitmore I’m on my way to the clerk’s office. If she wants to stop me, she can meet me there.”

She looked at Julian.

“Are you coming?”

He didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

The man in the suit lifted his phone as they walked toward Julian’s car. Emma heard him speaking as she opened the pᴀssenger door.

“They’re moving. Heading to the county clerk. Yes, both of them.”

Julian started the engine. Emma buckled her seatbelt and stared straight ahead.

“If we do this,” she said, “and it works, your mother will never forgive you.”

“I know.”

“And if it doesn’t work, my mother becomes part of whatever story they tell tomorrow.”

“I know that too.”

He pulled away from the curb. In the rearview mirror, the dark car followed.

Emma’s phone buzzed. A new message from the unknown number.

You’re making a mistake.
Turn around.
Last chance.

She turned the phone over so she couldn’t see the screen.

“Drive,” she said.

Julian pressed the accelerator.

Behind them, the dark car stayed close. Ahead of them, the county clerk’s office was nineteen minutes away.

And somewhere between the two, Catherine Whitmore was already making another call.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 5…

Are they already married, or is it already too late?

👇 Comment YES if you want PART 5! 💍