Chapter 3 - The Replacement Dress
Chaos immediately erupted in the hallway.
Lucas pulled out his phone frantically, his fingers shaking as he logged into his bank app.
"It's gone," Lucas whispered, all the color draining from his face. "Sixty thousand dollars, just gone."
He looked directly at our mother, his eyes pleading for an explanation she clearly did not have.
"Don't look at me!" she shrieked, taking a step back toward the kitchen. "I didn't touch your money!"
Chloe burst into tears, covering her face as the reality of her ruined wedding crashed down on her.
"The rehearsal dinner is in three hours, and we have no food for tomorrow," Chloe sobbed.
I felt a sudden pang of guilt, even though I had absolutely nothing to do with their missing money.
Alexander placed a warm, reassuring hand on my lower back.
"I can handle the caterers," Alexander announced quietly, his voice cutting through the panic.
"I will have my personal chef and his team flown in from New York within the hour."
Chloe looked up, mascara running down her cheeks, staring at Alexander as if he were an angel.
"You would really do that for us?" Chloe asked, her voice cracking.
"I am doing it for Emily," Alexander corrected her firmly. "Because she loves her brother, despite how this family treats her."
My mother scoffed loudly, desperately trying to regain control of the room.
"Well, that's all fine and good, but Emily still can't go to the rehearsal dinner," she sneered.
She pointed to the top of the stairs, a wicked glint returning to her eyes.
"As you can see, she doesn't have a single dress to wear tonight."
Alexander let out a long, exhausted sigh, as if he were dealing with a toddler throwing a tantrum.
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers once.
A sleek black van I hadn't noticed pulled into the driveway, and two women in sharp suits stepped out carrying garment bags.
They walked right through the open front door, ignoring my dumbfounded family completely.
"Mrs. Hale, we have the latest collection from Milan ready for your fitting," the lead woman said to me with a respectful bow.
Aunt Marlene nearly choked on her wine as she stared at the designer logos printed on the garment bags.
"How did you get a custom fitting arranged on twenty minutes' notice?" Marlene asked, her voice filled with envy.
Alexander smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes as he looked at my aunt.
"I own the fashion house, Marlene," he replied smoothly.
He turned to me and kissed my forehead, ignoring the stunned silence of my family.
"Go get dressed, darling, we have a dinner to attend," he murmured.
I walked up the stairs with the stylists, leaving my family in a state of absolute shock.
But as I reached the landing, I heard my father's phone ring loudly from the living room.
May you like
He answered it on speaker, and a cold, mechanical voice echoed through the house.
"Mr. Davis, this is the First National Bank fraud department calling regarding an unauthorized transfer of sixty thousand dollars to an offshore account in your name."
