Chapter 7 - THE BRIDE'S PERFECT WEDDING WAS PAID FOR WITH STOLEN MONEY
“Avalene's company?”
Callum read the name again.
VARDEN EVENT HOLDINGS.
Thea stared at the ledger.
She knew Avalene had built a successful luxury-events business.
The bride had mentioned it repeatedly during the wedding preparations.
Her clients included celebrities, executives, and wealthy families across Manhattan.
But twelve million dollars?
That wasn't a wedding-planning fee.
That was enough money to change hundreds of employees' lives.
Callum turned toward Edmund.
“Explain this transfer.”
Edmund straightened his tie.
“It was a short-term internal allocation.”
“Into my wife's company?”
“A vendor financing arrangement.”
“Without the owner's approval?”
Edmund hesitated.
Rowena answered.
“I approved no such arrangement.”
Clara looked horrified.
“Edmund, you said the trust was being restored.”
“It was.”
“Then why is the money in Avalene's business?”
Edmund said nothing.
Callum closed the ledger.
“I'm going to speak with my wife.”
He walked out.
Thea followed with Rowena and Marian.
In the ballroom, the wedding had continued in an uneasy way.
The orchestra played quietly.
Guests whispered over untouched desserts.
Avalene stood near the cake, trying to hide the stain on her gown beneath the folds of its enormous skirt.
When she saw Callum, relief flickered across her face.
“Finally.”
She approached him.
“Can we please get back to our reception?”
Callum stopped.
“What is Varden Event Holdings doing with twelve million dollars from the Larkmore employee trust?”
Avalene's smile disappeared.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
She glanced around.
“Not here.”
“Then tell me somewhere else.”
He led her into a quiet seating area beyond the ballroom doors.
Thea remained near the entrance, helping Rowena into a chair.
Hazel came to stand beside her.
“What happened?”
Thea whispered, “I think we found the missing tips.”
Hazel stared.
“All of them?”
“Maybe more than we imagined.”
Inside the seating area, Avalene folded her arms.
“Who told you about the transfer?”
Callum looked at her.
“So you knew?”
“Of course I knew money was deposited.”
“Where did it come from?”
“Edmund said it was a family investment.”
“Did you ask which family?”
“Callum, my company was expanding.”
She spoke quickly.
“We had a chance to acquire a major events group in Boston. Edmund said the hotel wanted to invest in outside hospitality services.”
“And you didn't tell me?”
“I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Twelve million dollars is not a surprise, Avalene. It's a financial transaction.”
Her eyes filled.
“You've always said you wanted me to succeed on my own.”
“I do.”
“But every time I talk about my business, your mother makes me feel like I'm playing dress-up.”
Callum paused.
Avalene wiped her eyes.
“I spent ten years building that company. Ten years working weekends and sleeping in office chairs. When Edmund offered financing, I thought somebody in your family finally believed in me.”
Thea watched Callum's expression soften slightly.
He had heard something he hadn't expected.
Avalene wasn't simply chasing luxury.
She was terrified of being seen as someone who had married into success rather than earned it.
But that didn't erase the source of the money.
“Did you sign the transfer authorization?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Without checking where the funds came from?”
“He gave me documents.”
“Show them to me.”
Avalene hesitated.
“They're in my office.”
“Can you access them?”
“Yes.”
She pulled out her phone.
After several moments, she opened an electronic file.
Callum scanned it.
The document described an investment from Larkmore Hospitality Holdings.
No mention of employee gratuities.
No trust account.
No staff money.
Thea leaned closer when Callum handed her the phone.
At the bottom was a signature.
Rowena Larkmore.
Thea looked toward the elderly woman.
“Did you sign this?”
Rowena adjusted her glasses.
“No.”
Avalene's mouth fell open.
“But Edmund said—”
“He lied,” Callum said.
Avalene looked as though someone had pulled the floor from beneath her.
For the first time that evening, her distress had nothing to do with the gown.
She sat down heavily.
“My company has already committed most of that money.”
Callum stared.
“To what?”
“Acquisition deposits. Vendor guarantees. Staff contracts.”
Thea felt a chill.
If the money was stolen, recovering it might destroy Avalene's company and harm innocent employees.
The consequences were larger than anyone had imagined.
Avalene covered her face.
“I didn't know.”
Rowena spoke calmly.
“Then help us prove it.”
Avalene lowered her hands.
“How?”
“Give us every record Edmund provided. Every email. Every approval.”
Avalene glanced at Thea.
For a moment, shame passed across her face.
But she looked away before speaking.
“I'll cooperate.”
Callum's expression remained guarded.
“That's a beginning.”
Avalene reached for his hand.
He didn't take it.
Thea saw the hurt in her face.
Then Callum said, “You still owe Thea something.”
Avalene looked toward the waitress.
Thea waited.
Avalene's lips parted.
Then closed.
“Callum, not now.”
His face changed.
“Not now?”
“I'm trying to save my business.”
“And she was trying to save my grandmother.”
Avalene looked away.
Thea felt something inside her settle.
She no longer needed the bride to approve of her.
But she wanted Avalene to understand what she'd done.
“I don't need you to like me,” Thea said.
Avalene looked up.
“I need you to understand that you hit someone who was doing her job.”
“I was upset.”
“So was I.”
Thea touched her bruised cheek.
“I thought I was about to watch someone die.”
Avalene looked at Rowena.
Then down at her stained dress.
She said nothing.
And somehow, the silence hurt more than another insult would have.
A security supervisor entered.
“Mr. Varden.”
Callum turned.
“We found something in the ballroom recordings.”
“Merrick said the cameras were down.”
“The ballroom cameras were. But the florist had installed a time-lapse camera to record the decorations.”
Thea straightened.
“What did it capture?”
“Not everything. But it recorded the staircase.”
Callum stepped forward.
“Show us.”
The supervisor opened a tablet.
The footage showed the west side of the ballroom.
Rowena sitting near the pillar.
Guests passing.
Thea carrying her tray.
Then Merrick approaching the chair.
He bent beside the rear wheel.
His body obscured his hands.
A moment later, he walked away.
The wheelchair began rolling.
Thea ran.
The footage caught the tray falling.
The desperate lunge.
The wheelchair stopping.
Then Avalene striking her.
Avalene turned pale.
“Oh, God.”
Rowena watched silently.
Callum replayed the moment Merrick crouched.
“He touched the brake.”
The supervisor nodded.
“There's more.”
He moved the footage backward several minutes.
Clara appeared near the service corridor.
She approached Merrick.
They spoke briefly.
Then Clara handed him something small.
Callum leaned closer.
“What is that?”
The supervisor enlarged the frame.
The object was difficult to see.
A narrow envelope.
Clara touched Merrick's arm before walking away.
Then the supervisor opened a second image.
A still photograph from the wedding photographer's camera.
It showed Clara standing behind Merrick.
The envelope was visible in her hand.
Across the front, written in dark blue ink, were three words:
REMOVE HER TONIGHT.
Callum stared at the image.
“My mother ordered this?”
Rowena's face turned ashen.
And from the doorway came Clara's voice.
May you like
“Yes,” she said.
“I wrote that note.”
