Chapter 6 - The Device Julian Did Not Find)
Gabriel reached the private dining room seconds after hotel security forced the door open.
He saw Julian first.
Then Elise.
Nothing else mattered.
Her cheek was red.
Her shoulder lace was torn.
She stood near the window with one hand pressed against her face.
Gabriel crossed the room.
Julian began speaking.
"Mr. Bellamy, this is not what it looks like."
Gabriel walked past him.
"Elise."
She looked at her father.
That was all it took.
The strength went out of her.
Gabriel caught her.
For several seconds she simply held him.
He said nothing.
He had learned during Marianne's illness that there were moments when words were acts of selfishness.
Sometimes people did not need explanations.
They needed somewhere safe to collapse.
Elise whispered, "He hit me."
Gabriel closed his eyes.
"I know."
Julian spoke behind them.
"It was an accident."
Gabriel looked over his shoulder.
Julian took half a step back.
"There was an argument."
Gabriel's voice was almost calm.
"Leave."
"This is my wedding."
Gabriel looked at hotel security.
"Remove him."
Julian laughed.
"You cannot order me out of my own reception."
The hotel manager had arrived.
He looked at Elise's face.
Then at Julian.
"Mr. Wycliffe, you need to step away."
Julian stared.
"You are taking his side?"
"I am taking the side of the guest who appears injured."
Victoria rushed in.
"What happened?"
Elise turned toward her.
"Your son hit me."
Victoria froze.
Then she looked at Julian.
"Tell me that is not true."
Julian said nothing.
Victoria's face hardened.
Not with horror.
With strategy.
"Everyone is emotional."
Gabriel's eyes moved to her.
Victoria corrected herself quickly.
"Of course I am concerned for Elise."
"No, you are not," Elise said.
Clara entered behind security.
She went straight to Elise.
"You okay?"
Elise nodded.
"Tomas?"
"With Helena."
Gabriel looked at his daughter.
"Helena is here."
Relief appeared on Elise's face.
Then she remembered something.
"Julian destroyed the recorder."
Gabriel frowned.
"What recorder?"
Elise pointed toward the shattered silver device.
Julian smiled faintly.
"It recorded a private marital argument without consent."
Helena March entered just in time to hear him.
"New York is a one-party consent state."
Julian's smile vanished.
Helena looked at Elise.
"Did you consent to recording your own conversation?"
"Yes."
"Then your husband's legal theory needs work."
Victoria stepped forward.
"Helena, surely we do not need attorneys involved."
Helena stared at her.
"Your son assaulted my client's daughter while attempting to obtain financial documents related to potentially forged trust instruments."
Victoria blinked.
"My client?"
Helena glanced at Gabriel.
"Old habits."
Elise took a breath.
"The recorder is destroyed anyway."
Clara reached into her dress pocket.
"Not exactly."
Everyone looked at her.
Clara held up her phone.
"Before Elise left my room, I paired the backup recorder to my phone."
Julian went pale.
Elise stared.
"You what?"
Clara gave her a shaky smile.
"Tomas told me to duplicate everything."
She opened an application.
An audio file appeared.
Forty-six minutes long.
Julian lunged.
Hotel security stopped him.
Clara stepped back.
"You recorded us?"
"No," Clara said. "Elise did."
Gabriel looked at Julian.
For the first time the young man seemed to understand that the night was moving beyond his control.
Conrad appeared in the doorway.
He looked from Julian to the recorder.
Then to Gabriel.
"May we speak privately?"
Gabriel laughed softly.
"I believe your family has had enough privacy tonight."
Conrad's face tightened.
"Aurelius froze our bridge facility."
"Yes."
"On your order?"
"Yes."
"Because of this?"
Gabriel pointed toward Elise.
"Because your company submitted what appears to be a forged financial document involving my daughter's assets. What happened here is a separate matter."
Conrad lowered his voice.
"You know what a freeze will do."
"That depends on what your auditors find."
"You could trigger a collapse."
"I could also ignore suspected fraud."
Conrad stepped closer.
"You are making this personal."
"It became personal when you used my daughter as collateral."
"That was Julian's structure."
Julian stared at his father.
"What?"
Conrad immediately realized his mistake.
Gabriel saw it.
So did Elise.
"So you knew," she said.
Conrad looked at her.
"I knew there were discussions."
"About my money."
"About stabilizing a family enterprise you were joining."
"I was never joining Wycliffe Holdings."
"You married my son."
Elise laughed bitterly.
"There it is again."
Gabriel turned to Helena.
"Preserve that statement too."
Conrad's eyes narrowed.
"You cannot humiliate us in front of two hundred guests."
Gabriel looked toward the hallway.
"Your reputation is not my responsibility."
Julian pushed past the security officer.
"This is ridiculous."
He looked at Elise.
"Tell them you are not pressing charges."
The room went silent.
Elise stared at him.
"I have not decided what I am doing."
"You are my wife."
"Stop saying that like it is ownership."
"We can work this out."
"No."
Julian stepped closer.
Security blocked him again.
His face twisted.
"You think your father will protect you forever?"
Gabriel's voice came softly.
"No."
Julian looked at him.
Gabriel continued.
"She will protect herself."
Then he turned to Elise.
"What do you want?"
It was the first question anyone from either family had asked her all evening.
Elise looked around the room.
At Julian.
At Victoria.
At Conrad.
At the ruined recorder.
At Clara.
At Helena.
Then at her father.
"I want everyone back in that ballroom."
Julian frowned.
"Why?"
Elise straightened her damaged dress.
She wiped the remaining tears from her face.
And for the first time that night, her voice did not shake.
"Because they wanted a wedding."
May you like
She looked directly at Julian.
"I am going to give them an ending."
