Chapter 10 - THE WEDDING MORNING TRANSFER
Security searched the Miller home but found no intruder.
One kitchen window had been left unlocked.
Howard replaced the entire household security team that afternoon.
Austin claimed he knew nothing about the anonymous messages. When Loretta asked about the apartment documents, he became defensive.
“Brittany handles most of the legal paperwork.”
“Do you sign what she gives you without reading it?”
“No.”
“Have you signed documents related to L.M. Holdings?”
Austin froze.
The pause lasted less than a second, but Loretta saw it.
“What is L.M. Holdings?” he asked.
“You tell me.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
Loretta’s disappointment was so deep that anger could not reach it.
“You used to be a terrible liar.”
Austin stood.
“I came here because you said you wanted to talk.”
“I wanted to give you a chance.”
“For what?”
“To tell me the truth before someone else tells it for you.”
Austin left without saying goodbye.
On the morning of the wedding, Hawthorne Estate looked like a perfect world.
White flowers covered the stone terraces.
A string quartet rehearsed beside the pond.
Servers arranged crystal glasses beneath the glass pavilion.
Photographers captured the arrival of guests in luxury cars.
No one looking at the estate would have guessed that federal financial investigators were waiting less than two miles away.
Naomi had contacted them after discovering the fraudulent medical document and the attempted $8 million financing application.
Their instructions were clear.
Allow the property transfer to be submitted.
Block the loan.
Document everyone involved.
Howard wore a black tuxedo and the expression of a man attending a trial.
Loretta stood beside him in her pale-blue dress.
“You can still cancel this,” he said.
“So can Austin.”
“He won’t.”
“Then I need to see it.”
Howard looked at his wife.
“You already know.”
“I know what he has done. I do not know what he will do when he has one final chance.”
At 9:12 a.m., the monitored apartment file was accessed.
At 9:17, an emergency transfer authorization was uploaded.
At 9:23, the false medical letter was attached.
At 9:28, a digital notary verified Loretta’s forged signature.
At 9:31, the deed was submitted.
Naomi watched every step from a temporary office inside the estate.
“There is one problem,” she told Howard.
“What?”
“The tracking code is missing.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Someone replaced our monitored document with a clean copy.”
“Alexander?”
“Or someone inside the trust office.”
Howard called Loretta.
She was inside the bridal suite helping a stylist repair a torn section of Brittany’s veil.
Brittany sat before a mirror, surrounded by bridesmaids.
When Loretta’s phone rang, Brittany glanced at the screen.
“Howard can survive without you for ten minutes.”
Loretta declined the call.
Brittany smiled at her reflection.
“You look nice today.”
“Thank you.”
“Blue is brave.”
“What does that mean?”
“It draws attention.”
Loretta adjusted the edge of the veil.
“I thought you enjoyed attention.”
“Only when it belongs to me.”
The bridesmaids laughed uncertainly.
Loretta stepped back.
“Marriage is not a competition.”
“Maybe yours isn’t.”
Brittany dismissed the stylists and bridesmaids.
When they were alone, she stood.
“You have never accepted me.”
“I accepted you long before you respected me.”
“I respect strength.”
“No. You respect access.”
Brittany’s smile disappeared.
“You think Howard made you powerful.”
“I think Howard and I built a life together.”
“You signed nothing that mattered.”
Loretta looked directly at her.
“Are you sure?”
For the first time that morning, Brittany appeared uncertain.
A notification sounded from Brittany’s phone.
Transfer submitted.
Loretta saw the words reflected in the mirror.
Brittany quickly turned the screen over.
“Congratulations,” Loretta said.
“On what?”
“Whatever just happened.”
Brittany moved closer.
“You should go find your seat.”
“I’m the groom’s mother.”
“Today, you’re a guest.”
Loretta left the suite.
Outside, she found Austin standing alone near the pond.
He would not meet her eyes.
“Austin.”
“Not now, Mom.”
“You signed the transfer.”
His face drained of color.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Look at me.”
He did.
Loretta saw fear, guilt, and something else.
Relief.
As though the worst part had already happened.
“Brittany said the apartment was supposed to be mine,” he whispered.
“It was.”
“Dad would have changed his mind.”
“No. The trust had a clear date.”
“She said he planned to sell it.”
“And you believed her instead of asking us?”
Austin looked toward the bridal suite.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
“She has evidence that Dad stole the foundation of his company.”
Loretta stared at him.
“What evidence?”
“The Hawthorne agreement.”
“It was forged.”
Austin shook his head.
“No. Dad’s original copy is hidden inside the apartment.”
“Where?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because Brittany said if anything happened to her today, the documents would be released.”
Loretta reached for his arm.
“Austin, you are being used.”
He pulled away.
“You always say that when I choose someone other than you.”
Before Loretta could answer, Brittany emerged from the estate.
She saw them speaking.
Her expression hardened.
May you like
The ceremony began twenty minutes later.
And beneath the music, Naomi received confirmation that the apartment transfer had been officially recorded.
