Nathan laughed as police began leading him away.
“Check the original trust documents, Sharon!”
My chest tightened.
“Why?”
He looked over his shoulder.
“Because Melissa didn’t leave her daughters a few investments.”
Linda closed her eyes.
Nathan shouted one last sentence before the doors shut behind him.
“She left them Ashford.”
For several seconds, nobody understood.
Then Rebecca went pale.
Very pale.
“What?”
Grace whispered, “What does that mean?”
Rebecca did not answer.
She pulled out her phone.
I grabbed her wrist.
“Rebecca.”
She looked at me.
“When Melissa was investigating Ashford,” she said slowly, “the company collapsed.”
“Yes.”
“Several assets were frozen.”
“Yes.”
“Some were later transferred through settlements.”
“What are you saying?”
Rebecca swallowed.
“I handled Melissa’s personal estate. I did not structure the girls’ long-term trust. Another firm did.”
My stomach tightened.
“Rebecca.”
“If Melissa acquired claims against Ashford through whistleblower proceedings or negotiated rights to recovered assets…”
Ben whispered, “How much?”
Rebecca looked toward the closed doors where Nathan had disappeared.
“I don’t know.”
The ceremony ended there.
There was no reception in the traditional sense.
There was no first dance.
No cake cutting.
No bouquet toss.
Instead, one hundred and eighty-seven guests stood around confused while my mother hugged all three of my children and cried.
Some people quietly left.
Others stayed.
The caterer, after consulting Elise, opened the bar.
I did not object.
At four thirty that afternoon, I sat in a bridal gown at a ballroom table eating grilled salmon while Rebecca made phone calls.
Grace had removed her shoes.
Lily was drinking champagne.
Ben was eating his third slice of wedding cake.
My mother stared at him.
“How are you eating?”
“Stress.”
“That isn’t a medical explanation.”
“It is today.”
At five twelve, Rebecca returned.
She sat beside me.
“You’re going to need to change clothes.”
“Why?”
“We have to go to a bank.”
I laughed.
“Of course we do.”
An hour later, still wearing my wedding makeup with jeans and a sweater, I entered a private banking office with my children.
