Chapter 4 - The Unraveling
""Is this true?"" Paige’s voice was barely a whisper. She looked at David, her jaw trembling. ""Dad, tell me this is a sick joke. Tell me Elaine hired this woman to ruin my wedding.""
""Elaine had nothing to do with this!"" I snapped, unable to hold back the anger that had been simmering for hours. ""I didn't even know who Miriam was until ten minutes ago, when she dropped a picture of you in your red raincoat! I’ve spent the last fourteen years honoring your mother’s memory while your father and grandmother systematically erased her entire family!""
""David,"" Paige choked out, stepping closer to her father. ""Tell me she's lying. Tell me my grandmother died.""
David couldn't look her in the eye. He rubbed the back of his neck, his shoulders hunched. ""Paige... sweetie. You have to understand the pressure I was under. When Rebecca died, my company was sinking. My mother told me that if we let Miriam stay involved, she would control Rebecca's assets. She said Miriam was from a working-class background and wouldn't know how to manage that kind of wealth. We wanted to protect your future!""
""By stealing it?"" Paige cried out. Several heads at the nearby tables turned toward our commotion. Guests stopped sipping their drinks. The music seemed to fade into a hollow hum.
""I didn't steal it!"" David argued desperately. ""I borrowed against the trust! I was going to pay it back as soon as the commercial development deal in Dublin closed! I swear, Paige, every dime was going back into your account!""
""The Dublin project was foreclosed last November, David,"" Miriam said softly, pulling another folded document from her bag. ""I’ve had a forensic accountant reviewing the filings for six weeks. There is no money left in your firm. You used Paige’s trust as collateral for a high-risk commercial loan, and the bank called the note three days ago. If Paige signs the standard wedding financial transfer documents your mother prepared for her today, she absorbs your business liabilities.""
Paige gasped, clutching her stomach as if she had been punched. Her gaze shifted to Beatrice, who was attempting to slip away toward the coat check.
""Grandmother!"" Paige shouted across the room.
Beatrice froze. Slowly, she turned back, her aristocratic veneer cracking into sharp, defensive shards. ""Paige, you are making a scene. Everyone is looking at you. Brandon’s family is here. Have some dignity.""
""Did you know about this?"" Paige yelled, tears finally spilling over her mascara, carving black tracks down her cheeks. ""You told me Grandma Miriam hated children! You told me she took money from Mom's estate and moved away because she didn't want the burden of raising me! I spent twenty years thinking half of my bloodline hated me!""
""She was poor, Paige!"" Beatrice hissed, dropping all pretense. ""Her husband was a mechanic! She lived in a bungalow in Worthington! Do you think you would have gone to private academy, had horseback riding lessons, and joined the debutante circuit if that woman had raised you? We gave you a name! We gave you status!""
""And you robbed her blind,"" I said, stepping right up to Beatrice. ""You spent Rebecca's money to maintain your country club facade, and when the money ran out, you used your son to manipulate Paige into handing over the rest.""
I turned to Paige. Her veil was crooked. Her hands were shaking so hard she dropped the bouquet she had been holding all afternoon onto the floor. The roses bruised against the dark carpet.
""You seated me at Table Nineteen,"" I told Paige, keeping my voice level and steady. ""You looked me in the eye and told me I wasn't family. You told me you wanted your mother's memory respected. Well, Paige, this is your mother's memory. This is your mother’s flesh and blood. The woman who stayed by her bedside while she died, the woman who loved you enough to wait twenty years in silence just to make sure you weren't left destitute by the people who claimed to love you most.""
Brandon, Paige’s new husband, suddenly appeared beside her, his tuxedo pristine, looking completely bewildered. ""Paige? Honey, what’s happening? The photographer wants us for the cake cutting. Why is everyone screaming?""
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Paige looked at Brandon, then at David, then at Beatrice. Finally, her eyes landed on Miriam, who sat patiently in her floral dress, holding the silver carousel charm in her open palm.
""Brandon,"" Paige whispered, her voice shaking violently. ""Call the limousine. We are leaving.""
