Chapter 4 - The Father's Wrath
The entire ballroom went completely dead silent.
My mother's face turned a horrifying shade of pale as her darkest secret was dragged into the light.
She had sold out my children's future to save her own house.
She had allowed Ryan to destroy my life because he had bought her silence with stolen money.
"Susan, tell me she is lying," my father's deep, trembling voice cut through the heavy silence.
My dad stepped out of the front row, looking at his wife of forty years with absolute horror.
My father was a quiet, hard-working man who had always stayed out of the family drama.
But right now, he looked like a man who had just watched his entire world burn to the ground.
"Robert, please, I can explain," my mother pleaded, reaching out for him.
My father slapped her hand away as if her touch was made of acid.
"You took money stolen from your own grandchildren to cover your gambling debts?" my father roared.
My mother shrank back, bursting into pathetic, guilty tears.
"I had to!" she cried out.
"I was going to lose the house, Robert!"
My father shook his head slowly, a look of absolute disgust settling over his features.
"You already lost the house, Susan," he said coldly.
"And as of right now, you have lost your husband, too."
My father turned his back on her and walked straight over to me and Amelia.
He wrapped his strong arms around us, pulling us into a fierce, protective embrace.
"I am so sorry, Annie," my dad whispered into my hair.
"I will hire the best lawyers in the state, and I will personally see to it that Ryan rots in a cell."
Ryan backed up against the altar, realizing that he was entirely surrounded by enemies.
He looked at my sister, expecting her to stand by his side and fight.
Instead, my sister crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
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"Don't look at me," my sister snapped at Ryan.
"I only married you because you told me you still had two million dollars in your offshore accounts!"
