Chapter 4 - The Unraveling on the Lawn
Spencer Thorne pushed his way to the front of the crowd, his brow furrowed in absolute disbelief as he looked at the corporate sign hanging on the chains.
"Vivian... wait," Spencer stammered, reading the Northbridge logo at the top of the notice. "What does your company have to do with this? Kendra told us her family secured an exclusive promotional grant through their private connections!"
I looked through the iron bars at Spencer, then at his parents, Senator Thorne and his wife, who had just stepped out of their vintage Bentley to see what was causing the commotion.
"There was no promotional grant, Spencer," I stated clearly, my voice carrying over the sound of idling engines. "Kendra didn't secure anything."
"The venue rental fee was waived because Northbridge Commercial Holdings owns Aldercrest Estate."
"And I am the CEO and majority owner of Northbridge."
The entire crowd went completely silent.
Denise froze, her hands slipping off the iron bars as if the metal had suddenly burned her skin. Her face lost every trace of its polished color.
"What... what did you just say?" Denise whispered, her breath catching violently in her throat.
"I built Northbridge twelve years ago, Mom," I said, looking her directly in the eyes. "I paid off your mortgage when you were three months away from foreclosure. I erased Kendra’s credit card debt. I bought Dad’s new car."
"I gave you this venue for free because despite how you treated me, I wanted my sister to have a good day."
"But yesterday, you tore up my invitation and told me I wasn't good enough to stand in the same room as your guests."
Kendra dropped onto her knees directly onto the damp grass outside the gate, her white lace dress soaking up the dirt as she reached her hands through the lower bars, sobbing hysterically.
"Vivian, please!" Kendra begged, her voice cracking into desperate, ugly sobs. "Please, I'm sorry! You can't do this to me! Everyone is watching! Spencer’s parents are right here!"
Spencer looked down at his crying bride, then back at the chained gate, his expression shifting from confusion to a cold, profound disgust.
"You lied to me, Kendra," Spencer said softly, taking a step back from her. "You told my family that your sister was an administrative failure who lived off your mother's charity."
"You built this entire wedding on her money while treating her like trash."
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Senator Thorne stepped forward, placing a firm, heavy hand on his son’s shoulder, looking at Denise with an expression that shattered my mother's decades of social climbing in a single second.
"The wedding is off, Spencer," the Senator declared coldly. "We do not align our family with fraudsters and parasites."
