Chapter 3 - The First Warning
The first undeniable warning came during a tasting at the venue.
A server accidentally brought Elena tea without lemon. It was a small mistake, quickly corrected. Vanessa waited until the server stepped away, then turned on Elena.
“You make every event difficult,” she said. “Can you not accept one cup of tea without creating a problem?”
Elena looked at her in surprise.
“I did not complain.”
“You did not have to. Everyone can feel your disapproval.”
Adrian entered before Elena could answer. Vanessa immediately touched Elena’s shoulder.
“We were just discussing the menu.”
Elena watched the transformation happen in a single breath.
That night, Adrian called the venue manager and asked to review the security footage from the tasting room. The cameras had no audio, but the images showed Vanessa leaning over Elena with a hard expression, then changing the moment Adrian returned.
He did not confront Vanessa yet.
Instead, he began asking questions.
The venue manager revealed that Vanessa had instructed staff to route all changes through her parents. The florist said Celeste had ordered additional arrangements for a private anniversary party scheduled at Adrian’s hotel after the wedding. A transportation company had been told to bill several family airport transfers as wedding expenses.
Adrian’s concern sharpened.
He asked his financial director to review every payment connected to the Laurents.
The preliminary report showed unusual charges, but nothing conclusive enough to act on.
Then Elena’s longtime assistant, Margaret, found an email accidentally forwarded to her.
In it, Vanessa told her mother, “Once the contracts are signed, he will never challenge us publicly.”
Adrian read the sentence three times.
May you like
For the first time, he wondered whether the wedding was not a celebration to Vanessa.
Perhaps it was a closing date.
