He was a divorced man with a lot of regrets, who’d made a lot of bad choices in his life. However, he had wanted her to know that loving her mother had not been one of them. Nicole Bellamy would always be the one true love of his life. Toni’s visit with her father that day had cleared things up for her, and confirmed what Dr. Tolbert had told her. It was all about choices a person made in life.
“You’ve gotten quiet on me, sweetheart. What are you thinking about?”
She lifted her head to look up at him. She loved these moments, whether they were before they made love or after, when Drew held her in his arms, brushing kisses along her throat and the sides of her mouth while telling her how much she meant to him. How much he loved her.
And that was what she appreciated the most, because she’d fought against it for so long. A man’s love. Now that she had it, she’d never let it go.
“I was thinking about what you said about the difference in our fathers.”
Toni then shared how her psychologist, Dr. Tolbert, had stressed that she could never fully move on if she didn’t find closure with her father. She told him that although she wasn’t sure what type of relationship they would have in the future, at least she knew that she no longer hated him.
“I would like you to meet him, Drew.”
“Your father?”
“Yes. I would like you to meet my father, Antonio Oliver.”
Andrew lifted a brow. “You were named after him?”
She nodded. “When we go home to meet my grandparents, I can arrange for you to meet my father, also.”
He smiled. “I would love to meet him. What have you decided about Gilmore?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I haven’t decided yet, but I don’t intend to let him get away with what he did. I left my home because of him. But then a part of me can’t help thinking that leaving Miami was a good thing. After all, it allowed me to reconnect with you.”
A smile touched his lips. “Yes, it did, and for that I will be forever grateful.” Then he leaned down and kissed her.
THE NEXT DAY, WITH signed warrants in hand, Andrew and Toni left the DA’s office that afternoon followed by four police cars. And just in case pandemonium broke out, they’d arranged for a police van to trail behind them. After all, they were on a mission of justice.
Twenty minutes later, they’d reached their destination, and flanked by uniformed officers, Andrew and Toni entered the church…just when the minister said, “If anyone present can show just cause why these two individuals should not marry, let them speak now or forever hold your peace.”
The timing could not have been better. Drew, in a clear, loud voice spoke up and said, “We do.”
The bride, the groom, and everyone in the pews turned as Drew, Toni and several uniformed officers, walked down the aisle of the church that had been lavishly decorated and filled to capacity. When they reached the altar, the groom asked in an angry tone, “What is the meaning of this?”
Ignoring the man, Toni faced Jennifer Evans and said, “Ms. Evans, you are under arrest for the murders of Byron Nettles, Maria Tindal, as well as Morey and Constance Evans.”
Numerous gasps were heard throughout the church. As expected, Jennifer began laying on the dramatics. “What! Are you crazy! I did not kill anyone, and Morey Evans was my father! How dare you accuse me of killing my own father!”
Ignoring her words, Toni began reciting Jennifer the Miranda Rights while snapping handcuffs on her. She then turned to two of the bridesmaids and said, “Amy Stamper and Monica Wright, the two of you are also under arrest for aiding and abetting in the death of Maria Tindal.” She recited Miranda Rights to them, as well. Their crime had been covering for Jennifer when they’d first verified her alibi, knowing what she had done.
Jennifer and the two bridesmaids were in hysterics, screaming that it was all a lie. Everybody watched the drama unfold, but no one came forward to save her. Not even the groom.
As the officers led the handcuffed women out, Toni felt immense satisfaction that these three rich bitches were finally getting what was owed to them.
• • •
Through a glass window, Andrew and Toni watched as Jennifer Evans paced the interrogation room in her wedding gown. It was such a beautiful gown, worn by