Chapter 2 - The Tasting Menu Ambush
The following week, we hosted the official menu tasting for the wedding. My father, my mother, Chloe, Bradley, and Bradley’s wealthy parents, Douglas and Eleanor, all sat at the VIP table in the center of my restaurant.
From the moment he walked in, my father played the role of the benevolent patriarch. He snapped his fingers at my servers, loudly critiqued the lighting, and boasted to Douglas about the "recent renovations we decided to make." Every time he said "we," my manager Hannah shot me a look of pure disgust. I just offered a tight, polite smile, playing the obedient daughter.
"The sea bass is extraordinary, Richard," Douglas said to my father, raising his wine glass. "I can see why this place is doing so well. You’ve built a goldmine here."
"Well, it takes a visionary, Douglas," my father chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Veronica here has been a decent little manager for us. Keeps the wheels turning while I handle the big-picture strategy."
I felt my fingernails dig into my palms. I looked over at my mother, who simply sipped her champagne, fully complicit in the lie. Then I looked at Chloe. She was busy showing Bradley a Pinterest board of floral arrangements, seemingly oblivious to the massive fraud happening right next to her. I realized then that Chloe was just a pawn, too. The wedding was nothing but a convenient stage for my father’s desperate con.
As the dessert course was cleared, Douglas stood up and walked over to the bar where I was polishing glasses.
"You run a tight ship, Veronica," the older man said kindly. "Your father tells me we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other once the paperwork clears on Monday. I’m excited to partner up."
"Paperwork?" I asked, feigning innocent curiosity.
"The equity transfer, of course," Douglas smiled. "Your father said you were preparing the operational handover documents for the wedding week."
My heart hammered against my ribs, but I kept my face utterly blank. "Ah, yes. The paperwork. Dad is taking care of all the fine print."
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"Excellent," Douglas said, walking back to the table.
My father caught my eye from across the room. He gave me a patronizing wink, completely unaware that he had just handed me the exact weapon I needed to destroy him. The trap was set, and I was going to let him walk right into it.
