Chapter 5 - The Party Collapses
By noon, Linda’s ballroom was filled with guests.
A string quartet played near the dance floor. Servers carried champagne between tables. A photographer asked Linda to pose beneath a gold sign displaying her name.
Ethan stood near the hotel office, trying different cards.
Every one was declined.
The manager folded his arms.
“The remaining balance is forty-eight thousand dollars.”
“I told you the bank made an error.”
“The contract requires payment before the main service begins.”
“You cannot stop my mother’s party in front of everyone.”
“We will if payment is not received.”
Linda entered the office.
“What is happening?”
“Nothing.”
“The music stopped.”
Ethan looked through the doorway. Hotel employees had begun removing unopened bottles from the bar.
Linda’s expression hardened.
“You promised everything was paid.”
“It will be.”
“With what money?”
Ethan’s phone rang.
The hospital.
He answered at last.
“This is Ethan.”
A nurse spoke calmly.
“Mr. Cole, your wife delivered a healthy baby girl this morning.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“What?”
“Mrs. Cole and the baby are stable. Due to visitor restrictions, you must report to the front desk before entering the maternity ward.”
Linda stared at him.
“The baby was born?”
Ethan could not answer.
The hospital call ended, and another notification appeared.
His luxury car order had been canceled.
Then the hotel manager spoke.
“Mr. Cole, bank security informed us that the original deposit may have been made using disputed funds. We are required to suspend the event.”
Linda’s face changed from confusion to horror.
“Disputed funds?”
Guests began murmuring in the ballroom.
The lights above the stage were turned off.
The seven-tier cake remained untouched.
Ethan grabbed the colorful gift bag containing the car keys that no longer opened anything.
May you like
“We’re going to the hospital,” he said.
Linda followed him, but for the first time in his life, she did not defend him.
