A laugh bubbled out of me—sharp, hysterical, completely inappropriate.
“So this wedding… this whole celebration…”
“They think they’ve won,” Robert said grimly. “They think they waited the appropriate amount of time, played their roles perfectly, and now they get to live happily ever after with Mom’s money funding their new life together.”
The door handle rattled suddenly.
“Claire?” My father’s voice called from the other side. “Are you in there? Is everything okay?”
Robert quickly folded the letter and slid it back into the envelope. I wiped my face, trying to compose myself.
“Yes,” I called back, my voice surprisingly steady. “We’ll be right out.”
“The cake is about to be cut. People are asking for you.”
“One minute.”
We heard his footsteps retreat down the hallway. I looked at my brother.
“What do we do now?”
Robert’s jaw was set in a hard line. “We do what Mom wanted. We expose the truth.”
The Reckoning
We walked back into the reception together, side by side, shoulders touching. Dad saw us immediately from across the room. He smiled with relief and started walking toward us.
“There you are! I was starting to worry you’d left. Everything okay?”
“We need to talk,” I said clearly. Loudly enough that people nearby stopped their conversations.
His smile faded slightly. “Can it wait until after—”
“No,” I interrupted. “It can’t wait.”
