Chapter Thirty-Two
The Wedding of the century. Newspaper headlines blasted across the front page. In throngs of adoring spectators, Jack Reiner and Caroline McKenzie were joined in matrimony.
First walked in the groom, taking slow and measured steps with his mother by his side, exchanging laughter as they went along. Amy had done away with her walking stick and leaned on the strength of her son doing the honor of accompanying him to the altar. After a sequence of five pairs in the wedding, the bride walked alongside her father in a chic white dress with 20-foot train. It looked she was floating in space, gracefully smiling to adoring friends and family in the audience.
On either side of the aisle, sat local and foreign dignitaries. Cabinet secretaries, business moguls, entertainers, and celebrities. Up ahead, Jack looked on with misty eyes. He wished his father was alive to see this moment. His tears abated seeing Caroline’s radiant face locking eyes with him. As he took her hand from the Senator, he felt he had overcome a threshold of life. A new life with the promise to keep and hold forever.
The Senator walked to his designated seat next to his wife, who had agreed to be present at the wedding to save face before their divorce is made public. He smiled at the irony of life putting together events commemorating irreconcilable difference between him and his wife, and the unbreakable bond he hoped his daughter was forming with Jack. He had been aggressive in requesting every possible background check on the man, and no hidden skeletons were waiting to be discovered. Jack was the perfect man for his daughter.
In fairness to both he and Nicole, the Senator thought as he listened to the exchange of vows, the two were never going to be together until the end. Their union was about infatuation and nothing more. Two different people of diverse backgrounds and ambitions in life. Their love had simply run its course. He turned his neck to look for Nancy and caught her smiling towards him. He had capitalized on the slow procession towards the altar to locate Nancy Smith in the crowd. Tonight was going to be the beginning of a new life for him as well. A honeymoon of sorts. He couldn’t wait until he could tell her about the decision to part ways with Nicole.
All cheered as the ceremony concluded with an invocation for peace and harmony. The select few special guests that were invited to the reception and evening of celebration, trickled toward the hotel as the Senator basked in the glory of the moment. All had proceeded without a hitch, and he was smiling broadly, anxiously counting down the minutes until the night arrived. In some strange sense, he thought it was his own celebration of new found freedom.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” His friend since law school, Henry, whispered in his ears.
“Can’t it wait? In the middle of meet and greet.”
“I am afraid not.”
Per Brandon’s request, Henry had been conducting his own independent investigation into the leaks that had rocked the political class. It was time to spill the beans.
“I’m afraid your own staff is in on the leaks. My sources tell me there are major revelations soon to hit the front pages.”
“Are you serious?” The Senator whispered back scanning the crown and showing a fake smile to not alarm anyone.
“It is at the highest level.”
“Alex conducted a thorough review and didn’t find anything.”
“That is because he is the one leaking. He has been dealing with the poll-breaker for many months now.” Henry said, referring to the behind the scenes operator responsible for the anonymous tell-all books and numerous revelations that had toppled many campaigns, hence the reputation for being a poll-breaker. Or, ball-breaker to the men on the receiving end of the exposition.
“That can’t be. He is like a son to me.”
“He is not exactly a son. Can’t trust them all. What I am about to say you are not going to like. I am hearing the Times will run a story about you in the next week.”
“You don’t say!”
“I will contact my people and kill the story.”
“I can’t believe he would betray me. For what?”
“Money, fame, any number of other motives. Let me handle this. We’ll rough him up a little and find out what he has let out. It should be a pretty quick resolution if all we have to worry about is him.”
It occurred to the Senator that he hadn’t seen Alex in the ceremony. He picked his phone and dialed the private number.
“Yes, what can I do for you, sir?” Alex responded. It had been difficult for him to follow the ceremony. Kept imagining himself standing at the altar. Asking what if questions and avoiding the possibility of being seen by Caroline.
“Where are you?”
“Outside. About to head back...”
“Stay on, will you. You can ride with me.”
Upon entering the black SUV waiting on the backside of the church, Alex was surprised to find the Senator wasn’t in the car. Instead, the head of security jumped inside the car and locked the door behind him. The SUV skidded to a fast start and zoomed away from the church premises.
“What’s going on?”
No one answered.
