Chapter 3 - Fallout in Newport
For three full seconds, nobody moved. The silence was so heavy that the soft patter of ocean rain against the glass roof sounded like shattering porcelain.
Then, the explosion happened.
Emma Bennett stood up from the bridal table. Tears were streaming down her face, ruining her bridal makeup, but her eyes were filled with a wild, terrifying fury. She stared at her father, then down at Valerie.
"Emma, darling, listen to me—" Richard stammered, stumbling down the stage stairs, his face drenched in sweat. "It's a setup! Chloe is bitter! She edited those files! She's trying to ruin your day!"
"Shut up!" Emma shrieked, her voice tearing through the ballroom. She reached down, grabbed her three-tiered floral wedding cake knife, and slammed it onto the table before grabbing her father's champagne tower and pushing it over.
CRASH!
Hundreds of crystal glasses shattered against the floor, sending champagne cascading over the head table.
"You stole from my mother's trust?!" Emma screamed, stepping over the glass in her gown, marching right up to her father. "You let this creature slap Chloe, you threw my sister out of my wedding, and you used my inheritance to buy her a fake yacht?!"
"Emma, please!" Valerie whined, stepping forward, reaching out a manicured hand. "I would never—"
"Touch me and I swear to God I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life in prison!" Emma snarled, turning her rage onto Valerie.
Sitting at Table One, Arthur Vance—the formidable patriarch of Vance Maritime and father of the groom—slowly stood up. He adjusted his dark suit, his face a mask of absolute disgust. He looked at Richard Bennett as if he were a bug on his boot.
"Richard," Arthur Vance said, his voice echoing clearly across the tense room. "Effective immediately, Vance Maritime cancels all merger negotiations with Bennett Global. Furthermore, our legal team will be filing an injunction to freeze all joint assets."
"Arthur! No! You can't do that!" Richard gasped, his voice cracking. "We have a signed letter of intent!"
"You are a fraud, Richard," Arthur replied coldly. "You stole from your own daughter, humiliated your eldest child, and brought a criminal fraudster into a room full of my family. Get out of this venue."
"This is my daughter's wedding!" Richard roared desperately.
"Actually, Mr. Bennett," a crisp voice spoke from the side aisle.
Alexander Mercer stepped out from the VIP lounge doors, flanked by four uniformed security officers. He looked completely serene, his dark eyes locked onto Richard.
"This estate belongs to Mercer Capital," Alex said smoothly. "And as the sole owner of this property, I am revoking your invitation. You and your guest are trespassing."
Richard blinked, stunned. "Mercer? What are you doing here?"
"Enforcing the law," Alex replied. He gestured to the security guards. "Escort Mr. Bennett and Miss Du Pont off the premises immediately. If they resist, call the Newport police and press formal charges for criminal trespass."
"You can't do this!" Valerie screamed as two large guards clamped handcuffs around her wrists—not for trespass, but because two federal marshals had just stepped through the main doors behind Alex.
"Valerie Du Pont?" the lead Marshal called out, producing a badge. "You are under arrest for interstate wire fraud, identity theft, and grand larceny. You have the right to remain silent."
"Richard! Help me!" Valerie shrieked as the marshals forced her hands behind her back. "Richard, do something!"
Richard stood frozen, watching as the woman he had sacrificed his family for was slapped in real handcuffs and dragged out of the grand ballroom in front of four hundred filming smartphones.
Guests were holding up their phones, recording every second of the spectacle. Within minutes, the video of the slap, the slideshow reveal, and Valerie’s arrest would be trending #1 on TikTok, X, and Facebook under the hashtag #NewportWeddingScandal.
Richard turned helplessly toward his youngest daughter. "Emma... please..."
Emma turned her back on him, wrapping her arms around her husband Lucas, sobbing into his shoulder.
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"Get him out of my sight," Emma whispered.
The security guards seized Richard by his elbows, dragging the once-mighty CEO out into the pouring rain, leaving his reputation, his business, and his family in absolute ruin.
