Chapter 7 - THE BRUNCH OF TRUTH
The brunch was a symphony of superficiality.
Laughter echoed off the marble walls,
the sound of crystal clinking against crystal.
Marcus was playing the perfect host,
shuttling between the business guests and Vanessa.
He held the baby for most of the morning,
beaming like a man who had won the lottery.
I moved through the crowd,
my smile fixed and frozen.
“A toast!”
Marcus shouted,
raising his glass as we gathered in the dining room.
“To family,
and to new beginnings.”
Everyone raised their glasses.
I waited until the silence settled,
the air thick with expectation.
“I’d like to add to that toast,”
I said,
my voice carrying clearly to every corner of the room.
Marcus looked at me,
a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
“To the truth,”
I said,
looking directly at Vanessa.
“Because it’s the only thing that sets us free.”
I set my glass down on the table,
the sound like a gavel.
“Marcus,
Vanessa,
I have a gift for you.”
I walked over to the sideboard and picked up the silver gift bag.
I pulled out a thick,
blue folder.
“This isn't for the baby,”
I said,
tossing it onto the table in front of Marcus.
“It’s for the two of you.”
The room went deathly silent.
Marcus frowned,
reaching for the folder.
“Addie,
what is this?”
“It’s the result of the audit,
Marcus.”
“The one that shows the two hundred thousand dollars you siphoned into Vanessa’s shell company.”
He went pale,
the color draining from his face as if a plug had been pulled.
“And the photos,
Vanessa,”
I said,
turning to my sister.
“The ones from the mountains.”
“The ones from the jewelry store.”
Vanessa’s hand flew to her throat,
clutching the pendant Marcus had bought her.
The business guests began to murmur,
sensing the shift from celebration to execution.
Marcus opened the folder,
his hands shaking.
The first thing he saw was the divorce petition.
The second was the lawsuit for corporate fraud.
“You...
you knew?”
he whispered,
his voice cracking.
“I knew the moment I heard you in the nursery,
Marcus.”
“I knew when you told her I was too weak to see the truth.”
I stepped closer to them,
the power in the room shifting entirely to my side.
“You thought you were using me.”
May you like
“But you were just living on borrowed time.”
“And the time is up.”
