The day my stepmother locked me in to keep me from attending her wedding, she thought she’d pulled off the perfect plan. But she forgot one thing: my Apple Watch. I’m 30. My dad, 61, called me three months ago: “I’m getting married again! To Dana!”
Dana—plastic-smiled, center-of-attention, and clearly threatened by my presence—never hid her disdain for me. Still, I tried. I was polite, bought her a Christmas scarf she never wore, and kept showing up. Two weeks before the wedding, my dad offered a room at their place. “No need for a hotel,” he said. Dana even handed me tea at the door. Strange, but I didn’t question it. That night, Dad and I stayed up laughing like old times. The next morning, I woke up locked in. No phone, no keys. Dana had taken everything—and left a sticky note: “Don’t take it personally. It’s just not your day.”
But she forgot I had my Apple Watch. I texted my best friend, Tasha. Thirty minutes later, she busted in, wild-eyed and ready for a rescue. We made it to the wedding just as the ceremony started. I walked in, heels in hand, and handed Dad the note.
He read it. His face fell.
Dana sputtered excuses. I called it what it was: kidnapping. Whispers rippled through the room. My dad looked at her—then walked out. Outside, I told him everything. He didn’t say much—until he returned to the altar. “This wedding is not happening,” he said. “I can’t marry someone who does this to my daughter.” Dana wept. Guests sat in shock. My dad left her that day and filed for an annulment soon after. At dinner weeks later, he said, “Thanks to you, I saw her for who she really was.” People used to call me dramatic. Maybe I was just the only one who saw the truth—and had the guts to show up anyway.
