Chapter 5 - Just Desserts
The room went dead silent. My father glared at me, his smile freezing. "Veronica, this isn't the time for the manager to speak. Go back to the kitchen."
"I think the owner should have a say in who she partners with," I replied, my voice echoing clearly across the dining room.
I snapped my fingers. Hannah hit the button.
The two massive projector screens behind the head table suddenly lit up. Displayed for all eighty guests to see was my father's massive debt file—bankruptcies, foreclosures, and maxed-out credit lines. Beside it was the true ownership deed of The Copper Spoon, clearly showing my name, and only my name, as the sole proprietor since day one.
Gasps erupted from the tables. Douglas stood up, his face turning an angry shade of purple. "Richard! What the hell is this?"
"She's lying!" my father panicked, dropping the microphone. He fumbled in his jacket and pulled out the folded contract he had tricked me into signing. "I have the signed transfer right here! She signed it over to me!"
"Read the fine print, Dad," I said coldly.
Douglas snatched the paper from my father's trembling hands. He read the clause Marcus and I had inserted.
"You absolute fraud," Douglas roared, throwing the paper at my father's chest. "This says you own nothing! You lied to me to steal my money to pay off your bankruptcies! The three-hundred-thousand-dollar check I gave you is being canceled right now!"
My mother burst into tears, hiding her face in her hands. Chloe looked between me and our parents, utter horror dawning in her eyes as she realized her dream wedding was funded by a criminal scam aimed at her new father-in-law.
"You ruined your sister's wedding!" my father screamed at me, taking a threatening step forward.
Before he could get close, two of my burly line cooks and a hired security guard stepped in front of him.
"No, Dad," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "You ruined your own life. Thirteen years ago, you threw me out because I wouldn't give you my savings. Today, I'm throwing you out because you tried to steal my future. Get out of my restaurant."
The security guards grabbed my father by the arms. He kicked and shouted obscenities, dragging my sobbing mother behind him as they were forcefully escorted out the front doors and into the street.
The dining room was silent. I looked over at Chloe, who was shaking. Bradley had his arm wrapped tightly around her. I walked over to them.
"I'm sorry about the drama, Chloe," I said softly. "But they were going to steal everything from me, and they were using you to do it."
Chloe wiped a tear, looked at the door where our toxic parents had just vanished, and then looked back at me. "You didn't ruin my wedding, Ronnie," she whispered, using her childhood nickname for me. "You saved my new family from being destroyed by them."
Douglas walked over, looking deeply embarrassed. "Veronica, I owe you a massive apology. I should have done my due diligence. You are an incredibly sharp businesswoman."
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"Thank you, Douglas," I smiled. "Now, I believe we have a beautiful cake to cut in the kitchen, and a lot of champagne left to drink."
The crowd cheered. The music started back up, louder and more joyous than before. As I watched my sister dance with her new husband, free from the toxic grip of our parents, I knew I had finally won. I had protected my business, I had gotten my sister back, and for the first time in thirteen years, I felt completely, truly at home.
