The Bride Walks Away from the Altar
Chapter 04 - The Bride Walks Away from the Altar
Emma Ward did not throw the ring.
She removed it slowly and placed it on the white program table.
Lucas watched as if the careful movement insulted him more than anger would have.
“You are ending our wedding over an alarm?”
“I am postponing it because your brother says you hid a company vote inside our ceremony.”
“My family’s business is complicated.”
“You told me the hotels were stable.”
“They are.”
Adrian spoke from behind them.
“Meridian is purchasing the debt, not the hotels. Once it owns the loans, it can force liquidation property by property.”
Emma turned toward him.
Her father’s pension fund was one of Meridian Equity’s limited partners. She had believed the deal preserved Blackwood jobs.
“Why would Lucas agree to that?”
“Because Meridian promised him management control of the surviving luxury brand.”
Lucas moved toward the phone table.
“Do not listen to a man whose doctors say he cannot remember his own accident.”
Nora felt Adrian stiffen.
Dr. Hale stepped forward.
“Mr. Blackwood experiences cognitive fatigue. Emotional situations can lead to fixation and suspicion.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Then explain why the incapacity certificate was drafted four days before you examined me.”
Guests began recording.
Hale’s composure slipped.
Camilla ordered security to collect phones.
No one obeyed.
Emma’s mother came forward and took her daughter’s hand.
“We are leaving.”
Lucas blocked the aisle.
“If you walk away now, the press will destroy both families.”
Emma looked at the crying bridesmaids, the silent directors, and the man in the wheelchair whose wet blanket still smelled of champagne.
“The press did not schedule a secret vote.”
She walked down the aisle in the opposite direction.
Her father followed.
Half the guests left with them.
The remaining half stayed because scandal held them more effectively than loyalty.
Adrian looked at the abandoned ring.
“I am sorry.”
Emma paused.
“You did not stop the wedding.”
She looked at Lucas.
“He did that before I arrived.”
The terrace doors closed behind her.
Lucas’s face changed.
The charming groom vanished. The executive who replaced him turned toward Adrian.
“You have until sunset to open the archive.”
Nora moved behind the wheelchair.
May you like
Adrian placed his hand on the right wheel.
“Then you should stop wasting time threatening the only two people who can help you.”
