Logan stepped between me and Vanessa, his face pale. “Chloe, stop. Shut up. Right now. You’re making a scene.”
“I’m making a scene?” I looked at my brother, the golden child who had spent his entire life taking credit for my hard work. “For five years, I have run Parker Logistics behind the scenes while you played the CEO in front of the cameras. I took a salary cut so the company could afford this wedding. I stayed up until 3:00 AM balancing the books while you were out at bachelor parties. And yet, I am the ‘clearance item’?”
The guests began whispering furiously. The facade of the perfect, wealthy Parker family was crumbling in real-time.
My mother’s face went from red to an ash-white. “Chloe, you are ungrateful! We gave you a job when no one else would hire a pregnant, unwed girl! We protected your reputation!”
“You protected your own reputation, Mother,” I shot back, the truth pouring out of me like an unstoppable flood. “You hid me away in the back office because you were ashamed. You told everyone Leo’s father abandoned us, but you never told them why, did you?”
Logan grabbed my arm, his grip tight and painful. “Chloe, I swear to God, if you say another word—”
“Get your hands off my mom!” Leo yelled, shoving Logan’s hand away with all his might.
I pulled Leo behind me. “Let go of me, Logan. Or I swear I will pull up the company payroll right now on the big screens meant for your wedding slideshow. Shall we show everyone the ‘consulting fees’ you’ve been paying out to Vanessa’s father’s shell company?”
The silence returned, but this time, it was lethal. Vanessa looked like she was about to faint. Logan dropped his hand, his eyes wide with terror. He knew exactly what I was talking about. He had been embezzling from the family company to fund his bride’s lavish lifestyle, thinking I would never notice because I was just the “miserable single mother” in the corner.
“We are leaving,” I said, looking down at my brother and the woman he chose to marry. “You can keep the company. I resign, effective immediately. Let’s see how long the business lasts without the clearance item running it.”
I took Leo’s hand, and together, we walked down the stage steps. The guests parted for us like the Red Sea, their expressions a mix of shock, awe, and horror. Nobody laughed now.
We walked out of the grand ballroom, the heavy double doors shutting behind us, cutting off the sudden eruption of chaotic shouting that broke out inside.
