"I don't believe it."

Elizbeth Thornton stared at the papers in front of her, shock and dismay clear on her face. She had convinced herself that her looming wedding to Lucas Bouchard was the best thing for everyone. Her son would have a male figure in his life, albeit not the fatherly role model she wished for him. Lucas would have a loyal wife, hopefully allowing him to relax and finally make real friends with the people of Hope Valley instead of merely business connections. And Nathan could finally move on to someone more deserving of his whole-hearted love and devotion. The fact that her heart was in no way tied to Lucas and that she didn't feel any great physical attraction to him made their supposedly romantic walks, touches, and kisses very awkward and uncomfortable, but she'd learned to put on a good show.

Now here she was, sitting in a suite at the grandest hotel in Union City, less than an hour away from walking down the aisle, faced with clear evidence that their entire relationship had been a farce far more malicious.

"Where did you get these?" she demanded as she sank into a chair, the silk and lace of her wedding gown pooling around her. The table in front of her was covered in letters, documents, and reports, all showing that her fiancé was not at all the man he'd pretended to be.

William Thatcher sighed, resisting the urge to place a comforting hand on his daughter's. Her tense posture and angry tone made it clear that she wanted answers more than sympathy right now. The Pinkerton man he'd hired had only learned the time and place of the Thornton-Bouchard wedding a few days ago, after the groom had bragged to an associate who in turn got very talkative after a few beers. When he'd realized how dire his daughter's circumstances were, William had left Hamilton immediately, afraid he wouldn't make it in time to stop everything. If ever there was a time to use the Thatcher money and name to get his way, this was it. Now, he could only pray that Elizabeth would believe him. "From the private investigator I hired to look into your Mr. Bouchard," he stated matter-of-factly.

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "What?"

William shrugged. "I wasn't about to let my daughter marry a man I know nothing about," he replied. "You've told me bits and pieces, but I got the sense your intended wasn't being completely honest with you. That feeling got stronger when he declined all of my invitations to talk or even meet. What sort of man refuses to get acquainted with the father of the woman he's courting? Doesn't ask for his blessing before proposing? At least Jack Thornton had the decency to come to me after the fact and apologize for his delay. And his circumstances were quite different. Your Mr. Bouchard simply didn't want us at your wedding."

"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth argued. "I sent you and Mother an invitation, and you didn't even bother to answer me. Instead, you wrote to Lucas, telling him you weren't coming!" She flinched as her heart twisted yet again, remembering the painful words in his letter.

William shook his head. "Your mother and I didn't get so much as an engagement announcement, let alone an invitation to the wedding. What we got was a letter from your fiancé, telling us that you didn't want us to attend. He said that you wanted it to be just the two of you, no friends, no family… He justified it by stating that you knew everyone disapproved of the match and that you didn't want the added stress. He asked us to stay away. That alone would have made me suspicious, even without all the other things."

Tugging off her veil and dropping it beside her, Elizabeth rubbed the aching sides of her head. It had seemed odd that her parents hadn't reached out to her. Even when they disagreed with her choices, like going out west to teach or marrying a Mountie, they had never threatened to cut her off. But the letter Lucas had shown her was on her father's stationary and in his handwriting… Shaking her head, she looked again at the papers spread across the table. She picked up the prenuptial agreement she and Lucas had signed, scanning it. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she took in the words. Elizabeth Thatcher Thornton hereby grants complete access to all inheritances and trusts in her name and complete control of all inheritances and trusts in the name of Jack Thornton Jr to Lucas Anthony Bouchard… "I didn't sign this!"

"It has what appears to be your signature on the bottom," her father pointed out.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Lucas and I did have a prenuptial agreement. I had a lawyer here in Union City draft it, one of Bill Avery's friends. And I read the entire thing before I signed it. This is not the same document."

"Well, it's a good thing the clerk at the courthouse thought it seemed odd as well," William said. "He showed it to his supervisor, who contacted the police, who called me."

She picked up the next document, an admission letter from a notoriously harsh boarding school. It stated that they were still awaiting the final tuition payment but were holding a place for Jack Thornton Jr starting next week. It went on to remind that parents were not allowed to visit without prior approval from the headmaster, and that care packages of sweets and tokens from home were forbidden. By enrolling your son in our program, you have assured him an intense, regulated, formal upbringing that will mold him into a future leader… "This is ridiculous!" Elizabeth cried. "I would never send my son away to school, let alone a place like The Sheldon Academy! And they are expecting him in a few days! How would I have gotten to say goodbye while I was away on my honeymoon?"

This time William didn't stop himself from reaching a hand to his daughter. "Jack isn't going anywhere," he assured her. "I'd like to see your fiancé try to take that boy."

Elizabeth's entire body crumpled. "How could he do this? Why would he do this?" Her voice hitched as she started to sob. "How could I let this happen?"

Her father stood, coming around the table and drawing her up into his arms. He let her cry, finally letting loose years' worth of bottled-up pain and frustration. When she began to calm, he guided her to the settee so they could both sit. "We can still fix this," he assured her. "Nothing irreparable has happened yet."

Elizabeth sniffled, wiping her eyes on his proffered handkerchief and forcing herself to straighten up. "As much as I wish that were true, I have neglected my son, abused my friends… and what I did to Nathan and Allie… it's unforgivable."

William was quiet. Regrettably, he feared she was correct. Jack was young enough that he would be able to heal and forgive his mother, but the relationships she had strained with her friends and neighbors would take more time. He had heard enough from Elizabeth herself, Mr. Avery, and Mrs. Stanton to know that any kind of relationship between his daughter and the town's Mountie, be it as friends or more romantic, was going to require a great deal of remorse and restitution on her part.

"First things first," he announced, a gleam beginning to light his eyes. "I believe you have a wedding to cancel."

Elizabeth's own eyes narrowed, turning cold as she wiped the last of the tears from her cheeks. She glared at the veil crumpled on the floor beside her chair, her scowl darkening as she looked down at the ostentatious gown her groom had insisted she wear. She was yanking the equally gaudy ring off her finger just as a knock sounded at the door.

"Elizabeth, darling," Lucas's overly sweet tone called out. "It's time to go!"

"Speak of the devil," she muttered. Elizabeth turned to start for the door, but her father put his hand on her arm.

"Allow me." There was definitely a hint of excitement in his tone as he smirked and hastened across the room.

Lucas knocked harder and shouted, "Elizabeth! Let's go! You're going to make us late!"

William opened the door, blocking the younger man from entering.

"Who are you?" Lucas demanded, glaring at the stranger. "What are you doing in my fiancé's room?"

The cold smile on William's face sent a chill down Lucas's spine. His tone when he answered was even more unsettling. "Well, well…" he sneered. "If it isn't the groom." He remained in the doorway, preventing Lucas from setting even a toe over the threshold.

"I demand to know who you are and what you're doing here!" Lucas railed. "Elizabeth! What is going on?"

Elizabeth merely glared across the room. She had plenty of things she wanted to say to the man she was literally minutes away from marrying, none of them kind or pleasant. Until she got her emotions under control and her mind cleared, she remained silent.

William had no such hesitation. "That's right," he said, his tone so overly cordial it was clear he was mocking the younger man. "We haven't had the pleasure of meeting. I'm William Thatcher. Elizabeth's father."

Lucas took a step back, swallowing hard as he scrambled for something to say. "Sir, it is an honor to meet you! And such a pleasant surprise that you could make it for our wedding after all!"

"Yes, a surprise indeed, considering you told me not to come."

Lucas stammered again, his usual charm and bravado useless in this situation. He was accustomed to being the most powerful one in town, but his wealth and influence were nothing compared to the man before him. "An unfortunate misunderstanding," he blustered. "I'm sure we can work everything out later." He stood up straighter, trying to make the best of things. "You can accompany Elizabeth and I to the courthouse and be a witness to our marriage. Then we can come back here and talk everything through."

William stepped aside, finally allowing Lucas to enter the room. "Oh, we're certainly going to talk things out, but I think we'll do it now," he said, another chilling grin spreading across his face as he watched the younger man blanche. William turned momentarily, leaning out into the hallway and waving, and a moment later Bill Avery and Nathan Grant stepped into the room.

"What are they doing here?" Lucas scoffed. "I highly doubt they've come to give the bride away."

William chuckled darkly but it was Bill who answered. "Mr. Thatcher invited us. Sorry, Bouchard, but I don't think there's going to be a wedding today. Or any day, for that matter."

"What is the meaning of this?" Lucas sputtered. "Elizabeth, what is going on here?"

Elizabeth was pleased to see that his face was still pale and there were beads of sweat breaking out along his forehead. She finally stepped forward, coming to a halt between her father and Bill. She nodded to Nathan, standing like a guard by the door, before she faced her fiancé. "What is going on here? That is precisely what I want to know."

She gestured towards the table, inviting Bill and Nathan to look over the stack of papers. Lucas took a quick glimpse and stepped back, his mind clearly racing for a suitable explanation. Nathan picked up the letter from Sheldon, his eyes darkening as he turned to glare at his former rival. Bill had taken a seat and was reading the prenup agreement.

"Elizabeth, this is outrageous!" the judge exclaimed. "Why would you sign something like this?"

"I didn't," she assured him, her own eyes icy as she looked at Lucas. "The document I signed decreed things like Lucas getting a one-time allowance from my trust fund in the event of my death, to cover my funeral expenses, and stated that at no time would he have access or control of either mine or Jack's trusts. It declared him eligible to share in any inheritances I receive, at no more than twenty-five percent. It was witnessed by my attorney, Mr. Bernard Brody, and notarized by his associate, with both their contact information as well that of my father's legal team. So, who is Daniel Duppen, the witness on this document?"

"Surely there has been some kind of mistake…" Lucas tried to soothe her. "I'm sure the original document just got misplaced at the courthouse or something."

"If that were the case, they would have contacted Elizabeth. And you didn't answer the question- who is Daniel Duppen?" Bill glared impatiently.

"I can tell you," Nathan said. "The Union City office is investigating him on charges of fraud, forgery, and theft. Looks like we've got plenty of evidence for them right here."

"Now wait just a minute!" Lucas tried to argue. "How was I to know that this Duppen fellow was a crook?"

"Considering he's your attorney of record, I think you knew exactly what he was up to," William suggested. Lucas huffed indignantly but the other man merely laughed. "Did you really think I'd let my daughter marry a man without finding out everything I could about him? I know it all, Mr. Bouchard. Your bitterness over your family being well-off but not wealthy enough to get you into the elite schools and gentlemen's clubs you thought you deserved. How you made a moderate fortune gambling under, shall we say, questionable circumstances. That your original business plan for the saloon in Hope Valley included the 'ladies' providing services beyond food and drink. And that your next venture involves a substantial influx of cash that was conveniently supposed to become available today." He paused, a smug grin on his face. "If I had to guess, I'd say you were planning to clean out my daughter's and my grandson's trust funds to use for your own gains."

"And what about Jack?" Elizabeth demanded. "What is this about The Sheldon Academy holding a spot for him?" She stepped forward, her ire making Lucas retreat again. "It's bad enough I let you talk me into leaving him behind because you didn't want him to be a part of our wedding. Now I find that you were going to send him away- to a virtual prison- without even allowing me to say goodbye?!"

Lucas huffed. "I was just doing what's best for everyone. Jack will get a proper education at Sheldon and finally be shown a sense of discipline. You've coddled him long enough. Plenty of children grow up without fathers; they don't need to be pampered because of it".

"Discipline?" she shouted back. "He's not even five years old! He's a child! And more importantly, he's my child! I will be the one to determine where and how he's educated. I will be the one to decide what he needs. I haven't coddled or pampered him because he doesn't have a father. I have tried to love him enough for both his father and I. And while I admit that, thanks to your ill influence, I haven't done a very good job of showing him attention lately, I would never consider sending him away."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "If you insist upon having a child, we can have one of our own. A proper child, not the offspring of a lowly civil servant who didn't even have the decency to-"

"You'd better stop right there," Bill interrupted, taking a stance beside Elizabeth. "Jack Thornton was one of the best men I've ever known. You will show him respect when you speak, or you will never speak again."

Lucas glared but kept quiet, realizing that baiting the judge wasn't going to win him any favors.

"So, what happens now?" Elizabeth asked. "Obviously, the wedding is off." She pointed to the ring on the table. "I don't even want to think about where the money for that thing came from."

Nathan stepped forward. "If you are prepared to press charges, I can take Mr. Bouchard into custody right now."

"Wait just a minute!" Lucas argued.

Ignoring his blustering almost son-in-law, William spoke up. "Even if my daughter isn't prepared to, I want to file charges against Mr. Bouchard. The letters he faked between Elizabeth and I and the forged prenuptial agreement should be enough to hold him. I'm sure once you start investigating, you'll find more. Kidnapping perhaps?"

"I didn't kidnap anyone!" Lucas argued.

"Maybe not literally, but I've got a strong argument for emotional abuse," Elizabeth countered. "Always reminding me how damaged I was by Jack's death, assuring me I wouldn't survive losing another Mountie husband, insisting I deserved to focus on myself instead of my child and my students, making me believe that my family had abandoned me…" She trailed off, her eyes filling with tears as she looked between Nathan and her father.

William pulled his daughter back into his arms. Over her head, he met Nathan's steely gaze and nodded firmly. The Mountie tugged Lucas's tuxedo-clad arms behind his back, cuffing him before leading him to the door.

"I called ahead," William informed them. "There should be a car and a team waiting downstairs to help transport Mr. Bouchard."

"I'll follow you out," Bill announced. "Just to make sure nothing funny happens. We wouldn't want Mr. Bouchard to run away, or to get off on a technicality like supposed mistreatment by the arresting officer, would we?"

From the look on his face, Lucas had been considering one or both of those options. He sank into a resigned slump as Nathan led him out the door, Bill just behind them as promised.

Elizabeth stood up, kicking her shoes off and reaching back to start unfastening her gown even as she hurried into the bedroom. William chuckled to himself as he heard her ranting and grumbling. When she returned to the parlor a few moments later clad in her traveling dress and pinning her hair back, there was no mistaking the pile of white fabric and lace tossed haphazardly on the floor behind her.

"I'll leave a message with the concierge that they can do whatever they want with the dress—keep it, sell it, burn it." She shrugged as her father chuckled. "Can you take me home now? I'd like to see my son."

As they were walking out the door, Elizabeth saw the frilly parasol that Lucas had bought her to go with the awful dress. While a part of her wanted to stomp on and break it or throw it across the room and shatter the mirror or an ornate vase or two, common sense won out. She was a Thatcher and a Thornton; she was too dignified to commit such petty acts and too honorable to leave a mess like that for the housekeeping staff to clean up. Instead, she picked it up, planning to send it back to Hamilton for her sister. As she and her father waited in the lobby for their car, Elizabeth saw a little girl about Jack's age staring at the parasol. Smiling softly, she crossed the room, holding the lacy umbrella out to the child.

"For me?" the little girl asked, her eyes wide with amazement. Elizabeth nodded, placing it in her little hands. The girl stared at it in awe for a moment before she danced over to her mother.

"Look, Mama! I got a pincess umbella!"

Her mother looked at Elizabeth, silently asking if she was sure. Elizabeth nodded before turning back to join her father.

"That was a very sweet thing to do," William said, a tender smile on his face as he too watched the little girl admire her new treasure.

"I was going to give it to Julie, but I think this is better." his daughter replied. "That little girl will get more joy out of it than I ever would."

Once they'd seen Lucas processed into the Union City jail and given their statements, Nathan and Bill were more than ready to head home. Their drive was solemn, their minds full but neither sure how to say what they were both thinking. They rode in companionable silence for a while before Bill broke the stillness.

"It must feel good to be proven right about Lucas. And nice to finally get him out of the way."

"I was just doing my job," Nathan replied, his hands tightening on the steering wheel until his knuckles were nearly white. "I'm glad Elizabeth and Jack are safe but…"

"But you don't know where this leaves the two of you," Bill added sympathetically.

Nathan nodded. "I don't trust her. The woman who said and did the things she did…that isn't the Elizabeth Thornton I met when I moved to town."

Bill was quiet for a moment, contemplating his next words. "But if she were to become that woman again… what happens then?" Nathan didn't answer, so he pushed on. "Give her time. I don't think she ever really processed Jack's death. She went from grieving to pouring everything she had into being a good mother to their child. Then Lucas came along just as she was starting to open herself up and he exploited all of her fears. You heard what she said today. He really messed with her head."

"I guess we'll have to wait and see."

Nathan's grip on the steering wheel began to loosen as he relaxed. He didn't want to say it, but he knew Bill would understand. He took his eyes off the road briefly, glancing at his friend as he added, "I just don't know if I have it in me to help her this time. And I won't risk Allie getting hurt again. If I've learned anything out of all of this, it's that my daughter comes first. Elizabeth is a grown woman. She can make her own choices and live with the consequences."

Bill studied the younger man for a moment. It was clear he was still torn between what his heart wanted and what his head told him was the right thing to do.

"And if Allie wants you to take the chance? What then?"

Nathan just shook his head slowly.

"I don't know."

The people of Hope Valley were relieved to see Elizabeth return with her father instead of Lucas. There were a few who had hoped that, given Bill and Nathan's hasty departure for Union City, the Mountie and the teacher had gotten married instead, but they were content with the knowledge that they would both be staying in town. There was still a chance.

After all, they did live in Hope Valley.