Dylan was shaking his head. «No. No, my mother wouldn’t do that. You’re wrong.»
«I know what I saw.»
«You saw her standing near some champagne glasses. That doesn’t mean—»
«I saw her drop a pill into my glass!» I was shouting now and I didn’t care. «I watched her look around to make sure no one was watching. I saw her do it deliberately. And then I watched her walk away with this satisfied little smile, like she’d just accomplished something.»
«You’re lying,» Dylan’s voice was cold. «You’re making this up because you feel guilty about what happened.»
That hit me like a slap. «Guilty about what? I didn’t do anything!»
«You admitted you switched the glasses. If what you’re saying is even true, you deliberately let my mother poison herself.»
«She was trying to poison me!»
«Enough!» Robert roared. «I won’t stand here and listen to you slander my wife while she’s lying in a hospital bed.»
The doctor cleared his throat awkwardly. «Perhaps this is a conversation better had privately. Mrs. Ashford is going to need to stay overnight for observation. We’ll run more tests in the morning. If you believe there was some kind of foul play involved, you should probably contact the police.»
Police. The word sent a chill through me.
«That won’t be necessary,» Robert said stiffly. «There’s clearly been some kind of misunderstanding.»
But Dylan was looking at me with something I’d never seen in his eyes before. Doubt. Suspicion. «Did you really see her?» he asked quietly.
«Yes,» I whispered. «Dylan, I swear to you I saw her put something in my drink.»
He stared at me for a long moment, and I could see the war happening inside him. His mother. His new wife. Who did he believe? Finally, he looked away.
«I need to think. I need to… I can’t do this right now.»
He walked away down the hospital corridor, leaving me standing there in my ruined wedding dress, feeling more alone than I’d ever felt in my life.
I didn’t sleep that night. Julia took me back to my apartment, the one I’d been planning to move out of since Dylan and I were supposed to leave for our honeymoon to Italy the next morning. Instead, I sat on my couch in sweatpants and one of Dylan’s old college t-shirts, staring at my phone.
The videos had already gone viral. «Mother of Groom Has Epic Meltdown at Wedding Reception,» read one headline. The video had been viewed over two million times. I watched it once, my stomach churning, seeing Caroline dance wildly, destroy our cake, and collapse in a pile of frosting and flowers.
The comments were brutal. Some people thought it was funny. Others speculated about drugs or alcohol. A few armchair psychologists suggested mental illness. No one suspected the truth.
Dylan hadn’t called. Hadn’t texted. Nothing. Julia sat beside me, her arm around my shoulders. «He’ll come around. Once he has time to process, he’ll realize you were telling the truth.»
«What if he doesn’t?» My voice cracked. «What if he never believes me?»
«Then you’ll deal with it. But Lori, are you absolutely sure about what you saw? I mean, it was a stressful day, lots going on…»
«I know what I saw,» I turned to look at her. «I’m not crazy, Julia. Caroline put something in my champagne. She tried to drug me.»
Julia squeezed my hand. «Hey, I believe you. So what do we do about it?»
«I don’t know.»
But the answer came the next morning when Detective Lisa Martinez showed up at my door. She was in her forties, sharp-eyed, with dark hair pulled back in a practical ponytail. She showed me her badge and asked if she could come in.
«Mrs. Ashford,» she said, and the name felt strange since I’d been Lori Winters for most of my life and had only been an Ashford for about twelve hours. «I need to ask you some questions about last night’s incident.»
I let her in, my heart pounding. «Did something happen? Is Caroline okay?»
«She’s stable. But the hospital is required to report certain things, and a case of apparent poisoning at a public event is one of them.» Detective Martinez sat down, pulling out a notebook. «I understand you made a statement suggesting your mother-in-law attempted to drug you?»
«Yes,» I sat across from her, forcing myself to stay calm. «I saw her put something in my champagne glass, so I switched our glasses.»
«Can you walk me through exactly what you saw?»
I did, describing every detail I could remember. The detective took careful notes, asking questions, pushing for specifics.
«Did anyone else see this happen?» she asked.
«I don’t think so. She made sure she was alone.»
«I see.» She tapped her pen against her notebook. «And why do you think she would do this?»
«She never wanted Dylan to marry me. She made that clear from the beginning.»
«Clear how?»
I told her about the two years of cold treatment, the cutting comments, and the attempts to control the wedding planning. It sounded petty as I said it out loud, not like evidence of someone capable of drugging their new daughter-in-law.
«Has she ever done anything physically harmful before?»
«No. But she’s always been very… calculated. Very concerned with appearances and control.»
Detective Martinez made more notes. «The reception was held at the Rosewood Estate, correct?»
«Yes.»
«They’ll have security cameras. I’m going to need to review that footage.»
My heart leaped. «There are cameras?»
«In a venue like that? Absolutely. They’ll have coverage of the ballroom, including the head table area.» She stood. «Mrs. Ashford, I want you to know that making false accusations is a serious matter. If you’re not telling the truth…»
«I am,» I said firmly. «I know what I saw.»
«Then the cameras will prove it.»
After she left, I felt a strange mix of terror and relief. If there was footage, it would show what Caroline did. Dylan would have to believe me. Unless the cameras hadn’t caught it, unless the angle was wrong or the footage was unclear or…
My phone rang. I answered so fast I nearly dropped it. «Hello?»
«Lori.» His voice was flat, emotionless. «The police just left the hospital. They questioned my mother.»
«Dylan, I didn’t… I mean, the hospital called them, not me.»
«She says she didn’t do it. She says she would never do something like that.»
«Of course she says that. She’s not going to admit it.»
«She’s my mother, Lori. I’ve known her my entire life. You think you know her better after two years?»
«I know what I saw. The police are getting the security footage from the venue. They said they’ll review it and contact us.»
«Good. Then you’ll see I’m telling the truth.»
There was a long pause. «I’m staying at Thomas’s place for a few days.»
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. «What? I just need space. To figure this out.»
«Dylan, we just got married. We’re supposed to be on our honeymoon right now.»
«Well, we’re not,» his voice cracked slightly. «My mother is in the hospital, our wedding reception is all over the internet, and my wife is accusing my mother of trying to poison her. So no, Lori, we’re not on our honeymoon.»
Tears burned in my eyes. «I didn’t want this. I didn’t want any of this.»
«Neither did I.» He was quiet for a moment. «I’ll call you when I hear about the footage.»
He hung up. I sat there holding my phone, crying so hard I couldn’t breathe. Julia came and held me while I sobbed.
The call came three days later. Detective Martinez asked me to come to the police station. Dylan was already there when I arrived, along with Robert and, surprisingly, Andrew. We sat in a small conference room. The detective set up a laptop.
«I’ve reviewed the security footage from the Rosewood Estate,» she said. «I’m going to show you what I found.»
She pressed play. The video showed the head table from a slightly elevated angle. The timestamp showed it was about ten minutes before the toasts were scheduled to start. The table was empty, champagne glasses arranged in a neat row. Then Caroline walked into frame. I heard Dylan inhale sharply beside me.
We watched as Caroline approached the table, glancing around nervously. She reached into her small clutch purse and pulled something out, something too small to make out clearly on the video. Then she held her hand over the champagne glasses, leaning close to read the place cards. Her hand hovered over the third glass from the left—the one marked with my name. Her fingers opened. A small white object fell into the glass.
Caroline glanced around again, then quickly walked away. The timestamp showed two minutes passing. Then I entered the frame, walking to the head table. I stood there for a moment, clearly looking at the glasses. Then my hand reached out. I watched myself switch the glasses, putting mine where Caroline’s had been, and hers where mine had been. Then I walked away.
The video stopped. The room was silent. Dylan’s face had gone completely white.
«That’s not…» Robert started, then stopped. «She must have thought it was her own glass. She must have been confused about where she was sitting.»
«Mr. Ashford,» Detective Martinez said gently, «You can see your wife checking the place cards. She knew exactly which glass was which.»
«Then it wasn’t drugs. Maybe it was a vitamin or something for herself.»
«The toxicology report from the hospital confirms your wife ingested approximately fifteen milligrams of diazepam. That’s not a vitamin.»
Andrew’s voice was small. «Mom doesn’t have a prescription for that. I’ve never seen her take anything like that.»
«Actually,» Detective Martinez said, «we traced it. Caroline’s sister, Jennifer Whitmore, has a prescription for diazepam for anxiety. She reported that her pill bottle had been at Caroline’s house for the past week while she was visiting. When we asked her to check it, she found that five pills were missing.»
Robert’s hands were shaking. «This is all circumstantial. Jennifer probably just miscounted.»
«Mr. Ashford,» the detective’s voice was firm, «the evidence is clear. Caroline deliberately put a sedative into her daughter-in-law’s champagne glass. The only reason Lori isn’t the one who ended up in the hospital is because she witnessed the act and switched the glasses. Your wife attempted to drug someone at a public event. That’s a crime.»
Dylan stood up suddenly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. He walked to the corner of the room and stood there, his back to us, his shoulders shaking. I wanted to go to him, to comfort him, but I didn’t know if I was allowed anymore.
«What happens now?» Robert asked, his voice defeated.
«We’ll be filing charges. Attempted poisoning, reckless endangerment. Caroline will need to turn herself in, or we’ll issue a warrant for her arrest.»
«She just got out of the hospital yesterday,» Robert said. «She’s still weak.»
«She’ll be processed and likely released on bail, given that she’s not a flight risk and has no prior record. But Mr. Ashford, this is serious. Your wife could face prison time.»
The word «prison» seemed to break something in Dylan. He made a sound, half sob, half gasp, and pressed his forehead against the wall. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I went to him, touching his shoulder gently. «Dylan.»
He turned and looked at me, his eyes full of devastation. «You were right. She really did it. She really tried to…» He couldn’t finish the sentence. Instead, he pulled me into his arms and held me so tightly I could barely breathe.
«I’m sorry,» he whispered into my hair. «God, Lori, I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you.»
«It’s okay.»
«It’s not okay. My mother tried to poison you, and I accused you of lying.»
I held him while he cried, feeling my own tears fall, relief and heartbreak mixed together until I couldn’t tell them apart. Robert had left the room at some point. Andrew sat at the table, staring at his hands, looking lost.
«What do I do?» Dylan asked me, his voice breaking. «She’s my mother.»
«She tried to hurt you. She tried to ruin our wedding, to drug you…» He pulled back, looking at me with horror. «What if you hadn’t seen her? What if you’d drunk it?»
«But I didn’t. I switched the glasses. I’m fine.»
«You could have been the one in the hospital, humiliated in front of everyone, with videos of you all over the internet. Everyone would have thought you were drunk or high or crazy, and it would have followed you forever. Your teaching job, your reputation, everything.»
I hadn’t let myself think about that. But he was right. If I’d drunk that champagne, my life would have been destroyed. Caroline had been willing to destroy me to keep me away from her son. The rage I felt in that moment was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
Caroline turned herself in the next morning, accompanied by an expensive lawyer named Gregory Huxley who looked like he charged a thousand dollars just to shake your hand. I watched it on the news: Caroline, dressed in a conservative navy suit, her hair perfect, her makeup understated, walking into the police station with her head held high. She looked like she was going to a charity luncheon, not being arrested for attempted poisoning.
«Caroline Ashford, prominent socialite and philanthropist, surrendered to authorities this morning in connection with an alleged poisoning attempt at her son’s wedding reception,» the news anchor said. «Sources say Ashford allegedly placed a prescription sedative in her new daughter-in-law’s drink, intending to cause impairment or harm.»
They showed clips from the viral video of Caroline destroying the wedding cake. Then they showed our engagement photo—Dylan and me, smiling and happy, with no idea what was coming. Dylan sat beside me on my couch, watching the coverage in silence. He’d moved back in two days ago, bringing his suitcase from Thomas’s place, apologizing over and over.
«They’re making her look like a victim,» I said, watching Caroline dab at her eyes with a tissue as she entered the station.
«That’s what Huxley does,» Dylan said bitterly. «He’s a shark. Dad hired the best defense attorney in the state.»
Of course he did. Caroline was processed and released on fifty thousand dollars bail within three hours. The conditions included no contact with me, which was fine by me. I never wanted to see her again.
But the media circus was just beginning. My phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Reporters had found my number somehow, calling at all hours asking for interviews. They showed up at my school, trying to get comments from my colleagues and students. My principal called me in for a meeting.
