Chapter 4 - The Wedding Invitation
Maren almost refused to bring Elodie.
Harold insisted.
“The court will eventually need to confirm identity and guardianship. Elias specifically requested that the child be present when the family is informed.”
Maren hated it.
A wedding was not the place to detonate a three-year-old family secret.
But Adrian was already set to marry Daphne Carlisle, the daughter of another prominent East Coast family.
Harold believed that once the marriage took place, Celestine would pressure Adrian into restructuring several family trusts immediately.
After that, recovering diverted assets could become far more difficult.
So Maren flew east.
She told Elodie they were visiting the ocean.
Nothing more.
When they reached the Vale estate, wedding staff were everywhere.
White flowers lined the stone terraces.
Music drifted across manicured lawns.
Beyond the gardens, the Atlantic crashed beneath steep cliffs.
Elodie squeezed Maren’s hand.
“This is Daddy’s house?”
Maren stopped.
She had never taught Elodie to call Adrian that.
She had only shown her photographs when Elodie asked why other kids had fathers at school events.
“Yes,” Maren whispered.
A man stepped out of the library.
Adrian.
Three years had changed him.
His hair was shorter.
His face looked harder.
But the moment he saw Elodie, everything disappeared from his expression.
He stared.
Elodie stared back.
Daphne appeared behind him in a silk robe.
“Adrian?”
He barely heard her.
“Maren.”
Celestine arrived seconds later.
Her champagne-colored dress was flawless.
Her smile was not.
“What are you doing here?”
Harold Mercer stepped between them.
“She is here at my invitation.”
Celestine’s eyes dropped to Elodie.
For one instant, something ugly flashed across her face.
Fear.
Maren caught it.
So did Harold.
Adrian approached slowly.
“How old is she now?”
“Four.”
His throat tightened.
“Can I—”
“No.”
Maren’s answer was quiet.
“You don’t get to touch her before you hear what your family did.”
Daphne looked between them.
“What does that mean?”
Celestine laughed.
“It means Maren is doing what she always did. Creating drama for money.”
Harold opened his briefcase.
“Then you should have no objection to hearing Elias Vale’s final instructions.”
Celestine’s smile vanished.
They entered the library.
Harold locked the door.
He placed three sealed folders on the table.
One for Adrian.
One for Maren.
One for the trustees.
Then he produced a fourth envelope.
Older than the others.
Stamped with Elias Vale’s personal seal.
Celestine went pale.
Adrian noticed.
“What is that?”
Harold looked directly at him.
“The reason your grandfather believed you made the worst mistake of your life three years ago.”
Before Harold could open it, a wedding coordinator knocked urgently.
Daphne’s father needed Adrian immediately.
There was a problem with the ceremony license.
Adrian cursed under his breath.
“Five minutes.”
He looked at Maren.
“Don’t leave.”
Celestine said nothing.
May you like
But as Adrian walked out, Maren saw her sister-in-law glance toward Elodie.
Then toward the French doors leading to the cliffside garden.
