Chapter 8
Elise moved toward the stage.
“This is my wedding,” she snapped.
Daniel placed one hand over the folder before she could touch it.
“Do not handle this.”
Elise recoiled as if he had slapped her.
He had not.
That made the humiliation cleaner.
Richard stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
Grace answered before Daniel could.
“An attorney.”
Margaret’s face tightened.
“Grace, stop this right now.”
Grace looked at her mother.
“You told me to relax.”
Margaret’s mouth closed.
Grace turned back to Elise.
“It was just a joke, wasn’t it?”
Elise’s eyes flashed.
“You’re jealous.”
Grace looked down at her soaked blue dress.
Then at Elise’s diamond necklace.
Then at the estate around them.
“No.”
The simplicity of the answer unsettled Elise.
Daniel began to open the folder, revealing only the edge of a sealed document with an embossed emblem.
No readable text.
No final ownership documents read aloud.
No announcement yet.
But Richard recognized the emblem.
His face changed.
Margaret noticed.
“What is that?”
Richard did not answer.
Elise looked from her father to Grace.
For the first time, fear entered her expression.
May you like
Because the people who had spent years calling Grace poor had just seen something official beside her name.
Read the full story 👉 Elise reached for the folder like the estate still obeyed her, but Daniel’s hand stopped her cold.
