Chapter 2 - The Morning the Music Stopped
The storm outside had cleared by 8:00 a.m., but inside the Vance family chat group, a hurricane was brewing.
I was in the kitchen making pancakes for Lily when my phone began to vibrate violently on the counter. It was Julian. I let it ring. It rang again. And again. Finally, on the fourth attempt, I answered and placed it on speakerphone.
"Catherine! What did you do?!" Julian’s voice was frantic, bordering on hysterical. "My mother just called me screaming! Prestige Catering just cancelled the contract! They said the wire transfer was recalled by the sponsoring corporation! The wedding is in six days, Catherine! There are three hundred VIP guests coming!"
"Good morning to you too, Julian," I said calmly, flipping a pancake. "I hope you slept well. I certainly did."
"This isn't a joke!" Julian groaned. "Eleanor is having a panic attack. She’s at the caterer's office right now trying to fix it, but they told her the funds are completely locked. Why did your company freeze the deposit? Was there a banking error?"
"There was no error, Julian," I said, my voice turning to ice. "I froze it intentionally."
A heavy, suffocating silence stretched over the phone line. I could hear Julian's ragged breathing.
"You... what? Why would you do that to Chloe? She didn't do anything to you!"
"Chloe is a bystander, and I feel for her," I replied. "But your mother made her choices clear last night. She decided that my daughter—the girl who carries my blood, the girl who wears purple glasses because she needs them to see—wasn't 'aesthetic' enough to stand in her precious lineup. She threw Lily out like trash. And you stood there and let her."
"Catherine, it's just a wedding lineup! It’s my mother’s dream day—well, Chloe's dream day! You're overreacting over some glasses!"
"Those 'glasses' allow my daughter to navigate the world without falling, Julian," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "If your mother wants an elite, perfect, exclusive wedding, she can pay for it with her own elite, perfect money. Oh, wait. She doesn't have any. The Vance family estate is a hollow shell, and you know it."
"Catherine, please—"
"I am going to hang up now, Julian. Tell your mother that if she wants the catering deposit released, she knows exactly who she needs to apologize to. But she’d better hurry. Every hour that passes, the caterer is looking to book another client."
I ended the call and blocked Julian’s number for the next few hours.
Lily walked into the kitchen, her purple glasses sitting perfectly on her nose. She looked at the plate of pancakes and grinned. "Are these for me, Mommy?"
"Only the best for my princess," I said, pulling her into a warm hug.
Just then, my phone lit up with an incoming text from an unsaved number. It was Eleanor.
May you like
"You classless, spiteful little factory girl. You think you can hold my family hostage with your cheap tricks? I will have Julian divorce you and strip you of every penny. Release my funds immediately, or I will make sure you are blacklisted from every social circle in this city."
I stared at the text and smiled. Eleanor still didn't get it. She still thought she was the one holding all the cards. I took a screenshot of her text and saved it. The game had officially begun.
