Chapter 2
I stared at Diane.
"What did you just say?"
She looked away.
"Nothing."
Marcus turned toward her.
"Mom, answer Nia."
Diane shook her head.
"This is ridiculous."
Daniel placed the sealed envelope beside the deed.
"Mrs. Bennett, I strongly suggest you stop making statements you cannot explain."
Diane's jaw tightened.
I looked at him.
"Daniel, open it."
He hesitated.
"Nia, perhaps we should speak privately."
I glanced around the ballroom.
Nearly two hundred guests were watching.
Some held phones.
Others whispered behind their hands.
My wedding dress hung damaged behind me.
My face was wet with tears.
And Diane was standing beside the table looking as though she might faint.
"No," I said.
My voice surprised even me.
"If this concerns my family, I want to know."
Marcus touched my arm.
"Nia, we don't have to do this here."
I turned toward him.
"Your mother just humiliated me in front of everyone."
He lowered his eyes.
"I know."
"Whatever Daniel has to say can't possibly hurt worse than that."
Daniel sighed.
Then opened the envelope.
Inside were several legal documents.
He removed the first.
"The additional property is a residential estate in Buckhead, two commercial buildings downtown, and a seventy-percent ownership interest in Bennett Heritage Holdings."
Marcus went completely still.
I frowned.
"Bennett Heritage Holdings?"
Diane grabbed the table.
"That's my husband's company."
Daniel looked at her.
"It was established by your late husband, Robert Bennett."
I stared at Marcus.
His father had died six years earlier.
I'd never met him.
Marcus rarely discussed him because their relationship had been complicated.
Diane always described Robert as a wealthy businessman who left everything to his family.
But Daniel was telling us something different.
I looked at the document.
"Why would my father own part of Robert Bennett's company?"
Daniel's expression tightened.
"Because your father was his original business partner."
The room seemed to tilt.
"My father?"
Daniel nodded.
"Samuel Carter and Robert Bennett established the company twenty-seven years ago."
I stared at him.
Dad had owned several businesses.
He invested in real estate.
But he rarely discussed details.
He preferred talking about family, education, and helping people.
He had raised me to believe money was useful but never proof of someone's worth.
I knew he was financially comfortable.
I didn't know he'd helped build the Bennett family's fortune.
Marcus looked stunned.
"Why didn't Dad tell me?"
Daniel glanced at Diane.
"Perhaps your mother can explain."
Diane's face turned red.
"Robert never mentioned Samuel Carter."
Daniel remained calm.
"That is inconsistent with the partnership records."
I watched her.
Something about her expression bothered me.
She didn't look confused.
She looked cornered.
Marcus stepped forward.
"Mom, did you know Nia's father?"
Diane shook her head.
"No."
Daniel opened another page.
"Then perhaps you can explain this."
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed my father standing beside Robert Bennett.
Both wore business suits.
They were smiling outside a newly constructed office building.
Between them stood Diane.
Much younger.
But unmistakable.
My heart stopped.
I picked up the photograph.
"Diane?"
She said nothing.
"You knew my father?"
Her lips trembled.
"That was years ago."
I stared.
"You told me you'd never heard of him."
Diane looked toward Marcus.
"Your father handled his own business."
Marcus's expression hardened.
"That's not an answer."
For the first time, I saw genuine anger directed at his mother.
Diane had always controlled family conversations.
She decided which relatives were welcome.
Which topics were acceptable.
Which memories of Robert could be discussed.
Marcus had learned to avoid arguments.
But now his entire understanding of the family business was collapsing.
Daniel turned toward me.
"Nia, your father discovered significant irregularities involving Bennett Heritage Holdings several years ago."
I swallowed.
"What kind of irregularities?"
"Unauthorized transfers. Misreported ownership interests. Financial arrangements that benefited certain individuals without proper approval."
I looked at Diane.
Her face had gone pale again.
Daniel continued.
"Your father began legal proceedings to recover assets belonging to him."
My stomach tightened.
"Did he win?"
"Several matters were resolved through a confidential settlement."
"And the properties?"
"They became part of his estate."
I stared at the documents.
"So Dad left them to me?"
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
My eyes filled.
I remembered my father sitting beside me at the hospital.
He was weak from cancer treatment.
But he still smiled whenever I entered.
One afternoon, he held my hand and said, "Nia, don't ever let anyone decide what you're worth."
I thought he was speaking about confidence.
Now I wondered whether he'd been warning me about something specific.
Marcus looked at Daniel.
"What conditions were triggered this morning?"
Daniel hesitated.
Then turned toward me.
"Your father instructed that the remaining ownership documents be released upon your marriage or upon a documented attempt by someone connected to Bennett Heritage Holdings to challenge your rights."
I felt cold.
"And which happened?"
Daniel's expression darkened.
"Both."
My heart began pounding.
"What do you mean?"
He opened another file.
"Earlier today, someone submitted documents attempting to challenge your ownership of the estate."
I stared at him.
"Who?"
Daniel looked toward Diane.
"An attorney acting on behalf of Diane Bennett."
Marcus stepped backward.
"Mom?"
Diane shook her head.
"I was protecting our family."
I felt anger rising.
"You were trying to take my property?"
"It's Bennett property!"
Daniel spoke firmly.
"Legally, it belongs to Nia."
Diane slammed her hand against the table.
"Your father stole everything!"
I stared at her.
The accusation hurt.
Dad had been honest.
Kind.
Careful.
The idea that he'd stolen from anyone felt impossible.
But I also knew I needed facts.
"What did he steal?" I asked.
Diane went quiet.
I stepped closer.
"Tell me."
Her eyes filled.
"Samuel ruined my husband."
Daniel closed the folder.
"That allegation was examined during the settlement proceedings."
Diane pointed at him.
"You don't know what happened!"
Daniel looked directly at her.
"I know what the records show."
Marcus stepped between them.
"Enough. We need to stop this."
I looked at him.
My fiancé.
The man I'd planned to marry that afternoon.
His mother had ripped my dress.
Accused me of greed.
Hidden a connection to my father.
And apparently tried to challenge my property rights.
I suddenly felt exhausted.
"Marcus, I can't do this."
His face changed.
"Nia?"
I looked toward the wedding arch.
White roses.
Golden ribbons.
Hundreds of guests.
Everything I'd dreamed about.
Then I looked at my torn gown.
"I can't stand at an altar while your mother tries to destroy me."
Marcus swallowed.
"Nia, please."
Tears filled his eyes.
"I love you."
I believed him.
But love wasn't enough to erase what had happened.
I took a shaky breath.
"Then prove it."
He stared at me.
"How?"
I looked toward Diane.
"Stop protecting someone who keeps hurting me."
The ballroom went silent.
Marcus turned toward his mother.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he removed the silver cuff links she'd given him that morning.
He placed them on the table.
"Mom, you need to leave."
Diane stared.
"What?"
"Now."
Her expression collapsed.
"You would choose her over me?"
Marcus's voice broke.
"I'm choosing the woman I love."
I felt tears spill down my face.
Diane looked around the ballroom.
Then laughed bitterly.
"You'll regret this."
She grabbed her handbag.
But before leaving, she turned toward me.
Her eyes were filled with hatred.
"You think owning that estate makes you powerful?"
I didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
"Ask your lawyer what happened to your father's original will."
My stomach dropped.
Daniel's expression changed.
Diane smiled coldly.
"Because the version you've seen isn't the one Samuel signed."
May you like
Then she walked out.
And I realized the documents Daniel had brought might only be the beginning of a much larger betrayal.
