Chapter 2
I felt Brooke’s hand close around my wrist before I even reached the head table.
Her fingers were cold.
“What did she mean?”
I looked at Nathan.
So did everyone else.
He had gone completely pale.
Diane noticed.
And smiled.
That scared me more than her anger had.
Brooke stood in front of her new husband.
“Nathan?”
He glanced toward his mother.
That was his first mistake.
Brooke saw it.
“So there is something.”
“No.”
“Then why did you look at her?”
“Because she’s trying to start trouble.”
Diane took another sip of champagne.
“I don’t need to start anything.”
Nathan’s voice hardened.
“Mom, stop.”
Brooke stared at him.
“What did you sign?”
Nathan rubbed both hands over his face.
“Nothing that affects us.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Guests had stopped pretending not to listen.
The DJ quietly lowered the music.
I wished he hadn’t.
Nathan lowered his voice.
“Can we talk upstairs?”
Brooke stepped back.
“No.”
“Brooke.”
“You want me to leave my own wedding because your mother just announced that you signed something the day before marrying me?”
“It isn’t like that.”
Diane laughed softly.
I turned toward her.
“What did he sign?”
She looked at me like I was dirt on her shoe.
“This is a family matter.”
“So was insulting my daughter apparently.”
“Claire,” Brooke whispered.
I stopped.
This was her marriage.
She needed answers.
Nathan looked trapped.
Finally he reached into his jacket.
He pulled out his phone.
“I signed a business guarantee.”
Brooke blinked.
“For what?”
“My father’s company.”
Diane’s smile disappeared.
Nathan continued.
“The bank required additional security for the expansion loan.”
Brooke frowned.
“You told me the company was debt-free.”
“It was.”
“Was?”
Nathan looked down.
My stomach tightened.
Brooke whispered, “How much?”
He didn’t answer.
“Nathan.”
“Two million.”
The ballroom seemed to tilt.
Brooke stared at him.
“Two million dollars?”
“It’s secured against company assets.”
Diane interrupted.
“And additional collateral.”
Nathan snapped, “Mom.”
Brooke slowly turned toward her.
“What additional collateral?”
Diane said nothing.
That was answer enough.
Brooke looked back at Nathan.
“What did you put up?”
He swallowed.
“My interest in the house.”
Brooke’s mouth opened.
The house.
The home they were supposed to move into after the honeymoon.
The home Brooke had paid half the deposit on.
The home where they planned to start a family.
“You used our house?”
“My half.”
“Our house.”
“It was temporary.”
Brooke’s voice rose.
“You signed away part of our home the day before our wedding and didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t sign it away.”
“You gambled it.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Diane placed her glass down.
“Nathan protected his family.”
Brooke turned.
“And what am I?”
Diane didn’t answer.
Nathan did.
“You are my family.”
Brooke’s eyes filled with tears.
“Then why didn’t I know?”
Nathan reached toward her.
She stepped away.
That small movement seemed to destroy him.
I knew Brooke.
She could survive anger.
She could survive embarrassment.
But betrayal?
That cut deeper.
“When were you going to tell me?”
Nathan looked at the floor.
“After the honeymoon.”
Brooke laughed through tears.
“After we were legally married.”
“Brooke—”
“After I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to walk into this?”
Diane rolled her eyes.
“It’s a business loan, not an affair.”
I spun toward her.
“You need to stop talking.”
She looked stunned.
I didn’t care.
“My sister asked her husband a question.”
“You have no standing here.”
“I have enough standing to know she deserves the truth.”
Nathan’s father, Robert, finally rose from the opposite side of the table.
He had barely spoken all night.
He looked exhausted.
“Diane.”
She turned.
“What?”
“Enough.”
Her face changed.
“You too?”
Robert looked at Brooke.
“I’m sorry.”
Nathan stared at him.
“Dad.”
Robert ignored his son.
“The loan wasn’t for expansion.”
Silence.
Diane whispered, “Robert.”
He looked at his wife.
“No more.”
My skin prickled.
Brooke gripped the edge of the table.
“What was it for?”
Robert’s shoulders sagged.
“To cover losses.”
“What losses?”
Nathan stepped toward him.
“Dad, what are you doing?”
Robert’s eyes filled with shame.
“The company has been losing money for eighteen months.”
Nathan froze.
I realized from his face that he hadn’t known.
Diane stood.
“Robert, shut your mouth.”
He looked at her.
“You told me Nathan knew everything.”
She said nothing.
Nathan stared at his mother.
“You told me the loan was for the new warehouse.”
“It is.”
“No.”
Robert shook his head.
“There is no new warehouse.”
Nathan’s expression collapsed.
Brooke’s pain shifted.
She looked from Nathan to Diane.
“You lied to him too.”
Diane straightened.
“I did what was necessary.”
Nathan stepped away from his mother.
“How much debt?”
Robert looked sick.
“Four point eight million.”
A chair scraped against the floor.
Someone gasped.
Nathan whispered, “That’s impossible.”
“It isn’t.”
“You showed me the financial statements.”
Diane answered this time.
“Your father was overwhelmed.”
Nathan stared at her.
“You showed me fake financial statements?”
“I showed you what you needed to see.”
Brooke put a hand over her mouth.
I felt Lily stir against my shoulder.
She had fallen asleep during the argument.
That tiny weight against me somehow made everything feel more real.
Nathan’s voice became barely audible.
“You forged them?”
Diane’s expression hardened.
“Watch your words.”
Robert laughed bitterly.
“She didn’t forge them.”
For one second, Diane looked relieved.
Then Robert continued.
“She had the accountant do it.”
Diane slapped the table.
“Enough!”
The microphone amplified the sound.
Several guests stood.
The hotel manager returned.
Brooke backed away from the head table.
I reached for her.
She whispered, “I can’t breathe.”
I guided her toward a side door.
Nathan followed.
“Brooke.”
She turned.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I believe you.”
He stopped.
That surprised him.
It surprised me too.
Brooke’s tears finally fell.
“But you still signed something worth two million dollars without telling me.”
Nathan looked shattered.
“You’re right.”
“I asked you before the wedding if there was anything I needed to know.”
“I was scared you’d worry.”
“I’m supposed to worry with you.”
He had no answer.
She took another step back.
“I need space.”
Nathan nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
Behind us, Diane’s voice carried again.
“This is ridiculous. The paperwork can be undone.”
Robert answered.
“No, Diane.”
Something in his voice made us all turn.
He held his phone.
“What did you do?” she asked.
Robert looked at Nathan.
“Your mother transferred the loan money this morning.”
Nathan went rigid.
“To where?”
Robert looked directly at Diane.
“I don’t know.”
Her face went white.
That was the first moment I knew this wasn’t just about a failing company.
Nathan walked toward his mother.
“Where is the money?”
She folded her arms.
“It’s handled.”
“Where?”
“I said it is handled.”
Robert stepped forward.
“The company account received two million dollars at 9:04 this morning.”
He looked down at his screen.
“At 9:19, one million eight hundred thousand was wired out.”
Brooke whispered, “To who?”
Robert’s eyes met Diane’s.
“A company called Blue Harbor Consulting.”
Diane looked toward the ballroom doors.
For the first time all night, she looked afraid.
Nathan noticed.
“So who owns Blue Harbor?”
Nobody spoke.
Then a man near the back table stood.
He wore a gray suit.
I recognized him vaguely from the rehearsal dinner.
Diane had introduced him as an old family friend.
His name was Victor Hale.
He looked straight at Diane.
May you like
Then at Nathan.
“You should ask your mother why my company received the money.”
