PAGE 7
— The Wedding Ends
Nadine’s fiancé took three slow steps backward.
“You knew about this?” he asked.
Nadine began crying.
“It isn’t what you think.”
He shook his head.
His parents were already standing.
They gathered their coats without saying another word.
“You’re monsters,” he whispered.
Then he walked out.
“Wait!”
Nadine chased after him, but the long train of her expensive gown tangled around her feet.
She stumbled.
The room remained silent.
I turned toward the screen.
“There is something else everyone should know.”
The next documents appeared.
“The orchids.”
The guests looked at the flowers.
“The dress.”
They looked at Nadine.
“The $50,000 ballroom deposit.”
Everyone looked toward my father.
“All of it was paid using money my family believed they had stolen from me.”
Mom collapsed into her chair.
Dad looked around the room desperately.
“Eileen, please.”
But I wasn’t finished.
“My attorneys filed an emergency injunction this morning.”
The estate accounts were frozen.
The authorities were reviewing the alleged perjury and fraud.
And there was one final problem.
“The remaining balance for this wedding is due today.”
I looked toward the hotel manager.
“One hundred thousand dollars.”
The manager nodded.
“I am officially canceling this event.”
The musicians stopped.
The lights changed.
The staff began clearing the room.
Nadine stood in the middle of the ballroom, still wearing her expensive gown, watching her wedding disappear around her.
Mom covered her face.
Dad looked at me.
His voice was barely audible.
“Why?”
I stared at him.
“Why did you do this to us?”
For a moment, I said nothing.
Then I reached into my purse.
And pulled out the document that would make them realize just how badly they had miscalculated.
The number printed across the top was $31.5 million.
