Chapter 6 - The Bankruptcy of Althia and Stellin
With the wedding abruptly dismantled and the groom walking out the door, the glittering illusion surrounding my family vanished in an instant. Althia rushed toward Sutton, attempting to pull her up from the floor, but her frantic whispers were drowned out by the harsh reality of the legal documents Vesper’s team was actively serving to the resort managers.
"This is private property!" Stellin shouted at the two uniformed police officers who now stood near the altar. "You can't do this! We are pillars of this community!"
"You're bankrupt, Stellin," Vesper stated coolly, walking up the altar steps with a tablet displaying federal financial registries. "According to the municipal bankruptcy filings updated this morning, your commercial real estate holdings have defaulted, your personal accounts have been locked due to fraudulent transfers, and every single luxury vehicle leased in your name has been repossessed as of two hours ago."
Althia turned around, her face twisted in absolute horror as she looked at me sitting calmly in my medical wheelchair.
"Fallon..." Althia’s voice dropped its usual venom, shifting into a desperate, theatrical whine. "Fallon, darling, please. We are your family. You can’t let these lawyers humiliate us like this in front of our friends! Call them off! Tell them it’s all a terrible family misunderstanding!"
I looked at my mother—the woman who had spent thirty-four years telling me I was clumsy, talentless, and unworthy of affection, the woman who had watched me tumble down a marble staircase and told me to get up because rich people were watching.
"Family?" I asked quietly, my voice carrying a chill that made her step back. "Where was my family when I lay at the bottom of those marble stairs with a shattered tibia? Where was my family when you looted my business account to pay for a wedding built on lies?"
Stellin stepped forward, his face red with rage, reverting to the authoritarian intimidation tactic he had used my entire life. "You ungrateful little brat! We raised you! We fed you! Without us, you’d be nothing!"
"Actually, Stellin," Ethan Cole stepped forward, holding a thick folder of structural inspection records, "Fallon is an aerospace reliability engineer who has built her entire career through intelligence, grit, and integrity—qualities neither you nor your golden child possess."
Ethan turned to the police officers. "Officers, my clients are ready to file formal criminal charges for corporate identity theft, unauthorized fund transfers, and aggravated assault resulting in severe bodily harm."
"No... please, no," Sutton sobbed from the floor, her designer dress stained with dust and spilled champagne. "Mom, do something! Make her stop!"
Althia opened her mouth to argue, but the reality of the two uniformed officers stepping forward with handcuffs made her words catch in her throat. Within minutes, formal notices of asset seizure and criminal investigation were served directly to both of my parents. They weren't escorted out in dramatic silver bracelets, but they were formally served with court orders barring them from entering any property owned by the Grand Horizon holding trust—which meant they were officially homeless, penniless, and entirely stripped of their social standing.
As the remaining guests quietly cleared out of the ballroom, whispering behind their hands and taking hasty videos on their phones, the vast oceanfront room grew peaceful.
Vesper packed her briefcase and smiled at me. "Well, Fallon. The resort is yours, your accounts are secured, and your family’s reign of terror is officially over. What’s your next move?"
May you like
I looked out the massive glass windows toward the endless expanse of the winter ocean.
"My next move," I said softly, "is to rebuild what was broken—not just my leg, but everything else they tried to destroy."
