Chapter 4 - The Missing Payments
Adrian’s attorney, Daniel Cross, began a quiet investigation.
The results arrived one week before the wedding.
Raymond Laurent had submitted invoices from a consulting company that had never provided services. Celeste had charged private shopping appointments to the wedding account. Vanessa had authorized deposits for a family vacation villa and described them as accommodations for international guests.
The total was already more than three hundred thousand dollars.
Worse, Vanessa had pushed Adrian to sign a broad payment authorization that would allow her family to approve additional expenses during the wedding week. The document sat unsigned in Daniel’s office.
“She is not stealing in the ordinary sense,” Daniel explained. “She is surrounding every charge with enough wedding language to make refusal look embarrassing.”
Adrian felt ashamed that he had missed so much.
“What do I do?”
“You decide whether this is greed, manipulation, or both. Then you decide what evidence you need before ending it.”
Adrian wanted to confront Vanessa immediately, but Elena stopped him.
“If she believes you suspect her, she will hide everything and blame me,” she said. “Let the truth show itself.”
Elena’s calmness hurt him. She had been mistreated while protecting his happiness.
Together, they formed a plan.
The wedding accounts would remain open but monitored. No final contracts would be signed. Daniel would attend the ceremony with the evidence ready. Adrian would observe Vanessa during the final bridal fitting, where Elena had been ordered to arrive early.
“I dislike using my own wedding as a test,” Adrian admitted.
May you like
Elena squeezed his hand.
“A test does not create character, Adrian. It reveals it.”
