My Deadbeat Dad Showed Up After 20 Years To Give Me A Warning. He Told Me To Never Get Into The Black Suv At My Own Wedding. Should I Trust The Man Who Abandoned Me Or The Family I’m Joining?
Caroline nodded.
“And your mother decided that I could be the solution to the problem.”
Dan sighed.
“I’m going to talk to her right now. This is unacceptable.”
“You’ll talk to her,” Caroline agreed. “But first I need guarantees. I need to know there won’t be any more surprises. And I want to see the documents she planned to give me.”
Dan nodded.
“You’ll see them. I promise. Caroline, forgive me. Forgive me for not telling you sooner. I just… I didn’t want you to worry about the debts. These are my problems.”
Caroline looked at him, then at her father, then back at Dan.
“We’re going to your mother right now and she is going to explain everything. Down to the last letter.”
Dan nodded.
“Let’s go.”
The three of them left the diner. The wedding, which should have been the happiest day of her life, had turned into an interrogation. But Caroline knew: it was better to know the truth now than to live in a lie later.
Confrontation at the Golden Ballroom
The two of them sat in Dan’s car, Caroline in the passenger seat. Robert got into his own car, ready to follow the newlyweds. The silence was heavy, tense.
Dan gripped the steering wheel.
“Where are we going?” he asked, staring straight ahead.
“To the restaurant,” Caroline replied, “where our guests are waiting.”
“And your mother?”
Dan nodded. He started the engine and pulled away. The city drifted by outside the window. Bright storefronts, autumn trees, people on the sidewalks. A normal day for everyone else.
But for Caroline, this day had turned everything upside down.
“Are you sure you want to have this conversation there?” Dan asked. “In front of all the guests?”
“Not in front of everyone,” Caroline answered. “But I want her to understand: we know. We know everything and the games are over.”
Dan was silent for the rest of the drive. He just stared ahead, lost in his thoughts. The restaurant, the Golden Ballroom, was in the center of the city in a historic mansion with columns and large windows.
When they arrived, several cars from the wedding party were parked out front. The guests were already gathered inside waiting for the reception to begin. Dan parked and turned off the engine. They sat in silence for a few seconds.
“Ready?” Caroline asked.
Dan exhaled.
“Ready.”
They got out of the car and walked to the entrance. Caroline smoothed her dress, straightened her shoulders. Inside she was a knot of tension, but she wouldn’t allow herself to show weakness.
Robert walked a little behind them, quiet and unobtrusive. In the lobby, they were met by the manager, a young woman in a black suit and white blouse.
“Dan, Caroline, we were getting worried! The guests are waiting. The reception was supposed to start 20 minutes ago.”
“Sorry for the delay,” Dan said. “There were some unforeseen circumstances. We’ll be right in.”
They entered the banquet hall, a large room with high ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and long tables covered in snow-white tablecloths. The guests were seated at the tables chatting and drinking champagne. When the newlyweds entered, everyone turned to them and applauded.
“Kiss!” someone shouted.
Dan and Caroline forced a smile. They kissed under the applause. Caroline quickly scanned the room.
Emily was at a table to the right and waved. Caroline’s colleagues were at the next table. Dan’s relatives to the left.
And right there, at the center of the relatives’ table, sat Beatrice Foster. Tall, distinguished, in a beige dress with a beautiful necklace. She looked at them, smiling, but her gaze was cool and composed.
Caroline caught her eye. For a moment Beatrice tensed, noticing the man who had entered behind the newlyweds. Robert stayed in the shadows, but his presence was palpable.
“Dan,” Caroline said in a low voice. “Ask the manager for a private room. We need to talk to your mother alone.”
Dan nodded and went to the manager’s desk. He returned a minute later.
“They’ve given us the small parlor. It’s quiet there. No one will bother us.”
Caroline walked over to the table where Beatrice was sitting. The guests around them were chatting and laughing, oblivious to the tension in the air.
“Beatrice,” Caroline said politely but firmly. “We need to speak with you now, in a private room.”
Beatrice raised an eyebrow.
“Speak now, Caroline? We have a reception. The guests are waiting.”
“The guests will wait,” Dan said coolly, coming up behind his mother. “Let’s go. It’s important.”
Beatrice looked at her son, then at Caroline, then at Robert who stood a short distance away. Something in her expression shifted. She understood that something serious had happened.
“Very well,” she said, rising from the table. “Let’s go.”
The four of them walked through the banquet hall toward the exit. The guests followed them with curious glances, but no one dared to ask what was happening.
The manager led them to the small parlor, a cozy room with round tables, a few armchairs, and a large window overlooking the garden. Dan closed the door. Beatrice sat in one of the armchairs. Her face remained calm, but Caroline could see the tension in her posture.
“I’m listening,” Beatrice said in a firm tone.
Dan walked over to her and leaned his hands on the back of the adjacent armchair.
“Mom, did you order an SUV for Caroline through your company?”
Beatrice didn’t blink.
“I did. So what?”
“With a lawyer inside? With documents?”
“Dan, I don’t understand what these questions are about. Yes, I ordered a car. I wanted Caroline to arrive here comfortably. And Sylvia Vance is our family attorney. I asked her to prepare some documents for Caroline to sign.”
“What documents?” Caroline asked sharply, taking a step forward.
Beatrice looked at her; her gaze hardened.
“Standard papers. Consent for joint ownership of assets, power of attorney to represent the family’s interests in financial matters. Normal formalities that all newlyweds sign.”
“That’s a lie,” Robert said calmly, stepping out of the shadows.
Beatrice turned to him. Her eyes narrowed.
“Excuse me, and who are you to interfere in our family’s affairs?”
“I’m the person who saw your car service request,” Robert replied, pulling the folded sheet of paper from his pocket. “This doesn’t look like standard formalities.”
He handed the printout to Dan.
“Mom, is this…?” Dan stammered. “Did you really plan this?”
Beatrice was silent for a few seconds, then smirked.
“You work for the transport company?” she asked Robert.
“Yes, as a dispatcher.”
“And you decided to play the hero? Save the poor bride from the evil mother-in-law?”
“I decided to warn my daughter that she was being deceived,” Robert said in a firm voice.
“Daughter? I thought Caroline was an orphan,” Beatrice said, feigning surprise.
She rose from the armchair, walked to the window, and looked out at the garden where the figures of guests who had stepped out for a smoke were visible among the trees.
“Dan,” she began without turning around. “Your company is on the verge of bankruptcy. You know that. A million dollars in debt. The bank is demanding repayment. You have no money, no assets you can sell. You’re losing everything you’ve built over the last 5 years.”
Dan turned pale.
“Mom, I’ll handle it. I’ll find a way out.”
“What way out?” Beatrice turned around. Her voice became hard, almost metallic.
“You’ve been looking for investors for 6 months. No one wants to invest in a sinking ship. The bank won’t give you an extension. In 3 months bankruptcy proceedings will begin. You’ll be left with nothing.”
“And you decided Caroline was the solution?” Dan raised his voice. “That if you saddled her with my debts everything would be fine?”
