Several relatives suddenly became very interested in their napkins.
Victoria turned toward me.
“This is ridiculous. You were supposed to pay.”
“Why?”
“Because your daughter is marrying into our family.”
Emily finally stood.
“No.”
Everyone turned toward her.
Her voice shook, but she remained standing.
“I’m not buying my way into anything.”
Daniel reached for her hand.
This time, Victoria ordered him to stop.
And this time, he didn’t obey.
“Mom,” Daniel said quietly, “you’ve gone too far.”
Victoria’s face hardened.
“You ungrateful little—”
“Enough,” Charles snapped.
I placed my phone on the table.
“My attorney has already received copies of the reservation instructions. Tomorrow morning, our compliance team will review whether corporate funds were improperly pledged for personal expenses.”
Victoria stared at me.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I’m not doing anything to you. I’m enforcing the same rules your company agreed to.”
Charles closed his eyes.
He understood immediately.
Their company was already in technical default.
My firm had been granting extensions while Charles refinanced several properties.
A compliance violation could end that patience.
Victoria’s arrogance vanished.
“What do you want?”
