You're Invited(94)

It happened right after I graduated—I used his laptop while he was in the shower and an email popped up with a link that routed through a bunch of sites. And I knew I shouldn’t snoop but something felt off and just—well—and I found—well, I still don’t know exactly what it was I’d found. The extent to which it went. Just that it contained children. That it was very, very wrong.

That was when I knew that I absolutely had to leave. He didn’t know what I had found. When he got out of the shower I just told him that I never wanted to speak to him again and then I left. But he found me, as you know.

[Pause]

This is why—well, this is the main reason why I flew back here. To stop the wedding. Not just because I didn’t want Kaavi to marry him, but most importantly, because I needed to keep him away from Nadia. I know I agreed to stay away from her. To not interfere in her life—with all their lives. And I don’t have this pining to be a mother or to step in and take her away, which is probably what Mrs. Fonseka thinks. I can see she’s happy there. I just want her to be safe. I needed to keep her away from him. I’ve seen the photos of Spencer with the Pink Sapphire girls too. He shouldn’t be around children.

EP: But why not come clean? Why not simply tell everyone what you knew?

AB: [Pause] What proof did I have? Spencer is, well, he’s this perfect man. Everyone loves him. I could see it from half a world away. If I showed up here, screaming that he was some sort of pedophile, I’d have just been the crazy ex-girlfriend who wanted to ruin this perfect wedding. Don’t tell me you didn’t think that to begin with. Don’t tell me that you didn’t think I was here because I was still in love with him, or because I was obsessed with her.

EP: Is this knife yours, Miss Bloom?

AB: Y-yes. I gave it to Kaavi. Last night. For her to defend herself. She was trying to leave him.

EP: We have a video that Miss Fonseka recorded on her phone. Would you like to see it?

AB: She—she left a video?

[Kaavindi Fonseka’s voice fills the room]

If someone is watching this, then chances are that I’m already dead.

I don’t even know why I’m recording a video. Call it a force of habit. Maybe later on I’ll see it and it’ll be hilarious. But tonight, well, [nervous laughter] this isn’t the kind of nerves I was expecting the night before my big day.

I’m having my dream wedding. I’m tying the knot at this beautiful hotel where my parents got married. Where I spent so much of my childhood playing down by the beach. I should be out of my mind with joy.

And maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m just being paranoid. But I’ve had this feeling for a while now, that things aren’t right.

Maybe it’s just—

Hang on.

[Whispering] I hear footsteps.

I think someone’s outside my door.

[Knocking]

Oh god.

[Louder] Who, um, who is it?

[Whispering to the camera] They aren’t saying who it is.

[Knocking again]

Oh god, here goes.

AB: [Pause] Her face. She’s only showing the right side of her face.

EP: Is that what stands out to you, Miss Bloom? Because I would have thought—

[Interruption]

Security officer: Miss Padmaraj, please come with us at once. There’s been a situation in room 311.

EP: [Standing] Room 311? Isn’t that . . . ?

Security officer: Yes, madam. That’s the groom’s, Mr. Spencer’s, room.





32


AMAYA


The Day of the Wedding


ALL THE DEEP breaths and counting to five and checking for numbers didn’t reassure me. Things had gone wrong. Things had gone very, very wrong.

I’d known it this morning, and I knew for sure when I saw the video. If we were still sticking to the plan, then why on earth didn’t Kaavi just name Spencer in the footage? Why did she just keep it vague? Was she trying to screw me? I thought back to how angry she’d been with me up until then. She was definitely trying to screw me.

I was certain Miss Padmaraj was going to have me arrested.

I was so sure of it that I’d already started grasping for straws, spilling out my heart, trying to figure out how I could get out of this.

But then a security guard barged in during the middle of my interview and I was forgotten, for the time being at least. I didn’t even have to look at the numbers to know that luck was on my side.

Miss Padmaraj stood up and rushed out of the room.

“Mey miss-va mehe thiyaganna please,” she barked to one of the younger-looking security guards on her way out. Keep this lady here please. He looked scared out of his mind at being acknowledged directly by her, but nodded, his eyes wide.

The rest of the guards followed Miss Padmaraj, and I was suddenly alone, my mind reeling. A situation in Spencer’s room. What was it? Had he finally come clean? Had he hurt himself? Had he tried to escape?

Escape.

It was like a light bulb went off in my head.

I wasn’t under arrest. Not yet, anyway. I could leave if I really wanted to. The young guard was just outside the door to this conference room, which was left open in the rush. Not high-security by any sense of the word. Good.

I checked my watch. I had been left here for about five minutes.

The deep breaths I took calmed me down.