Chapter 2 - The Contract Hidden Inside the Wedding
Dinner that evening was supposed to be informal.
Nothing in Victoria Carter’s world was informal.
Twenty-three people sat beneath chandeliers around a table covered with imported linen, crystal glasses, silver chargers, and enough white roses to decorate a cathedral.
Emily had been seated at the far end.
Naturally.
Marlene sat across from her.
Naturally.
Victoria presided near Lucas and Sophia.
Sophia Bennett was beautiful in a quiet way, with warm brown eyes and the exhausted expression of someone who had spent six months surviving wedding planning with Victoria Carter.
“You okay?” Sophia whispered when she passed Emily near the kitchen.
“I’m fine.”
“That usually means no.”
Emily smiled.
“I’m surviving.”
Sophia squeezed her hand.
“I’m glad you’re here.”
That made attending worth it.
Halfway through dinner, Victoria tapped her wineglass.
“Before tomorrow,” she announced, “there are several family matters we should finish.”
Emily immediately remembered Alexander’s message.
Do not sign anything.
Victoria nodded toward a man near the end of the table.
Mr. Randall, the family accountant, stood and distributed several folders.
One landed beside Emily’s plate.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Administrative housekeeping,” Victoria replied.
Emily opened the folder.
A dense legal document stared back at her.
She read the heading twice.
Carter Family Holdings Restructuring Agreement.
“What does this have to do with me?”
Victoria smiled.
“Your father created several outdated ownership structures before his death.”
Emily’s father, Charles Carter, had died six years earlier.
Officially, he had left the majority of Carter Family Holdings to Victoria and Lucas.
Emily had received $30,000 and a letter telling her to “build something of your own.”
For years she had assumed the decision proved what Victoria always told her.
Her father believed Lucas was capable.
Emily was not.
Now she read the restructuring agreement more carefully.
Clause 14 mentioned beneficiary interests.
Clause 17 referenced dormant trust rights.
Clause 19 required Emily Carter to permanently waive any claim to historical assets.
Emily looked up.
“What historical assets?”
Victoria’s smile tightened.
“Technical language.”
“Then it shouldn’t matter if I don’t sign.”
Marlene sighed loudly.
“Oh, for God’s sake.”
Lucas rubbed his forehead.
“Emily, can we not do this tonight?”
“Do what?”
“Turn everything into a confrontation.”
Emily stared at him.
“I asked what I’m signing.”
Victoria placed both palms against the table.
“Your brother gets married tomorrow. We are cleaning up old paperwork so nothing interferes with his future.”
“Why would my signature interfere with his future?”
Nobody answered.
Sophia looked toward Lucas.
Lucas avoided her eyes.
Interesting.
Emily closed the folder.
“I’ll have my attorney review it.”
Marlene laughed.
“Your attorney?”
“Yes.”
“With what money?”
Several guests became visibly uncomfortable.
Emily felt heat move into her cheeks.
She hated that.
Not the insult.
The physical evidence that it affected her.
Victoria leaned back.
“Stop pretending to be important.”
Emily placed the folder beside her plate.
“I’m not signing tonight.”
Lucas suddenly stood.
“Emily.”
His voice carried warning.
She looked at him.
“Please.”
He lowered his voice.
“This wedding is already costing a fortune. Hawthorne required additional deposits. Mom had to restructure financing. Just sign it so we can get through tomorrow.”
Something inside Emily became very still.
“Hawthorne required additional deposits?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Lucas glanced at Victoria.
“Why does that matter?”
Emily remembered the document Alexander was bringing.
A transfer from something called the Emily Rose Carter Trust.
Seven figures.
Maybe more.
Victoria reached for Emily’s folder.
“You’re being ridiculous.”
Emily held it away.
For the first time, Victoria’s composure cracked.
Only slightly.
But Emily noticed.
So did Sophia.
After dinner, Emily returned upstairs and photographed every page.
She sent the images to Alexander.
His reply came less than a minute later.
Do not let that document out of your possession.
Emily typed:
Why?
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Returned.
Then:
Because Clause 19 would help them erase what they did.
Emily’s heartbeat accelerated.
What did they do?
Alexander called.
She answered immediately.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“I’ll explain everything tomorrow.”
“Alexander.”
“Emily, listen to me. Keep the agreement. Don’t confront Victoria tonight.”
“Why?”
A pause.
“Because I don’t think the wedding is the reason they need your signature.”
Emily sat on the edge of the bed.
“What is?”
May you like
Alexander answered:
“I think they know someone has found the trust.”
