Chapter 6 - The Tiger Mother Strikes Back
By 8:00 AM on Monday morning, the fallout from the Rosewood Estate wedding had exploded across social media.
A high-society wedding guest had secretly livestreamed Chloe’s speech to TikTok and Instagram. By breakfast, the video had racked up over twelve million views under the hashtags #NewportWeddingScandal and #TheBraveLittleGirl. Memes of Rachel falling to her knees and Julian sprinting through the hydrangea bushes were circulating on every major celebrity gossip site.
Then, the doorbell rang. It wasn't Logan's polite knock. It was a furious, relentless pounding that shook the door on its hinges.
"Valerie! Open this door immediately!" my mother screamed from the corridor.
I checked through the peephole. Eleanor Hayes stood there in a tailored tweed coat, her face flushed with venom, flanked by two private security guards. Behind them, Rachel stood wearing dark designer sunglasses, her arms crossed, chewing her manicured fingernails nervously.
I opened the door, but kept the safety latch on. "What do you want, Mother?"
"You ungrateful little gutter rat!" Eleanor spat, lunging toward the crack in the door before the security guard gently held her back. "You instructed your bastard child to commit corporate espionage! Rachel's reputation is in ruins! Every charity board in Newport has removed me from their committees! You will release a public video this afternoon stating that the footage was an altered prank, or I will sue you for five million dollars for emotional distress and slander!"
Rachel stepped forward, pushing her sunglasses onto her head, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. "Valerie, do you have any idea what you've done? Logan canceled the credit lines! My clothing manufacturer in Italy suspended our fall collection! If you don't fix this right now, I’m ruined!"
I looked at Rachel. The arrogance, the smugness that had defined her entire life was still there, masked beneath hysterical desperation.
"You called Chloe a 'useless brat' at your wedding, Rachel," I said calmly, feeling zero pity in my chest. "You told three hundred people that I was born to stay out of the way. Did you think your actions would never have consequences?"
"She is a brat!" Rachel shrieked, losing all control. "She ruined my wedding day! I was supposed to be a Montgomery!"
"You were never going to be a Montgomery," a deep, commanding voice echoed from the stairwell.
Eleanor and Rachel spun around in terror.
Logan Montgomery walked up the stairs, followed by four uniformed Providence police detectives and two federal investigators from the New York Financial Fraud Task Force. Behind them walked Logan’s chief paralegal, carrying two bulging leather briefcases.
Logan looked immaculate in a tailored midnight-blue suit, his trench coat draped over one arm. He didn't even acknowledge Rachel. He stopped directly in front of my mother.
"Eleanor Hayes," Logan said smoothly. "Allow me to introduce Detective Miller and Investigator Reynolds. They are here to execute a federal search warrant for your estate in Newport and your safety deposit boxes at First Heritage Bank."
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Eleanor’s face drained of every ounce of color. "W-warrant? On what grounds? This is harassment!"
"On the grounds of interstate wire fraud, conspiracy, and grand larceny exceeding four million dollars," Logan stated, pulling a sealed court order from his breast pocket. "Your late husband’s true will has been unsealed by the Providence Probate Judge. The game is over, Eleanor."
