Chapter 8 - The Plan Before the Wedding
Greg had asked Dad how much money I had.
Dad claimed he didn’t know.
That part was true.
Then Greg asked about Grandpa.
About the inheritance.
About my work.
About whether I owned property.
Dad had dismissed the questions.
But Greg kept asking.
“He said he wanted to help you invest.”
I stared at him.
“And you thought that was normal?”
“I thought he was trying to include you.”
Of course he did.
Greg had spent months investigating me while pretending I was beneath him.
The irony was almost impressive.
I called Rebecca immediately.
Her team discovered something else.
Blue Meridian Strategies wasn’t a legitimate consulting firm.
It had been incorporated nine months earlier.
Three months before Sarah and Greg became engaged.
Its bank account had received transfers connected to several people besides me.
Greg had done this before.
Not weddings.
Investments.
Loans.
Business opportunities.
He borrowed credibility from his father’s company, presented himself as wealthy, then convinced people to fund ventures that either failed or never existed.
My wedding account had simply been his biggest opportunity.
Sarah came to my villa that afternoon.
She carried an envelope.
“What’s this?”
“My marriage certificate.”
I stared at her.
“We never filed it.”
That surprised me.
“Why?”
“Greg said he would handle it after the honeymoon.”
She laughed bitterly.
“I guess laziness finally did me a favor.”
Then she placed another document beside it.
A prenuptial agreement.
I read several pages.
Something felt wrong.
“Who prepared this?”
“Greg’s attorney.”
“Did you have independent counsel?”
“No.”
I looked up.
“Sarah.”
“I know.”
She sat down.
“I was stupid.”
“No.”
“You were reckless.”
“There’s a difference.”
She nodded.
Then she started crying.
Not dramatically.
Quietly.
“I wanted Mom and Dad to look at me the way they always did.”
I frowned.
“They already adored you.”
“That was the problem.”
She wiped her face.
“I had to keep being the successful one.”
“The beautiful one.”
“The daughter who married well.”
“So when Greg showed up with expensive cars and stories about his family, I didn’t ask enough questions.”
I understood more than I wanted to.
Our parents had damaged both of us differently.
They taught me that nothing I achieved would ever be enough.
They taught Sarah that she could never afford to stop being exceptional.
But understanding her did not erase what she had done to Mia.
Sarah looked toward the bedroom.
“Can she ever forgive me?”
“That isn’t your decision.”
“I know.”
“You also need to understand something.”
“What?”
“Even if she forgives you someday, I may never trust you around her again.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
“I understand.”
Before leaving, she handed me her phone.
“There’s something else.”
On the screen was a message from Greg.
It had arrived twenty minutes earlier.
YOU THINK ELENA SAVED YOU?
ASK HER WHY SHE REALLY PAID FOR THIS WEDDING.
I read it twice.
Sarah watched me.
“What does he mean?”
May you like
I didn’t know.
But judging by Greg’s confidence, he believed he had found one secret capable of turning my entire family against me.
