Chapter 4 - The House of Cards|
Vanessa’s hands began to shake uncontrollably. She took a step back from Graham, her heavy lace train bunching up behind her heels.
“Graham, please, he’s lying! Mark is an idiot, you know he’s an idiot!” she stammered, her high-pitched voice cracking under the pressure. “I don't even know what offshore accounts he’s talking about!”
On the screen behind her, the video cut to a close-up of a document laid out on the coffee shop table.
Lily had zoomed in with her phone camera. The resolution was crystal clear.
It was a bank transfer document bearing the seal of Ellison, Vance & Reed. It showed a transfer of two point four million dollars from an estate account directly into a shell company registered in the Cayman Islands under the name V. Whitmore Enterprises.
A low rumble of conversation erupted among the guests. Several prominent lawyers from Graham’s firm stood up from their tables near the front, their expressions instantly hardening into professional crisis mode.
“Is that my firm’s routing number?” Arthur Ellison, Graham’s father and the founding partner of the firm, stood up slowly from his seat. His voice cut through the room like iron.
“Dad, stay out of this!” Vanessa shrieked, completely dropping her polite high-society persona.
“Do not call me Dad,” Arthur replied coldly.
Graham walked over to the edge of the riser, took off his expensive white orchid boutonniere, and dropped it onto the floor. He didn't look angry; he looked entirely hollowed out.
“The wedding is over,” Graham announced to the room.
His voice was calm, carried easily by the silence of the hall. He turned to the three hundred guests—executives, judges, politicians, and socialites.
“I apologize to everyone who traveled to be here tonight,” Graham continued, his eyes fixed on the floor. “Please enjoy the food and drinks. But there will be no marriage.”
“Graham, NO!” Vanessa threw herself forward, grabbing his suit jacket with both hands. “You can’t do this to me! Think about the scandal! Think about what people will say!”
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Graham gently, but firmly, peeled her fingers off his lapel.
“I’m not thinking about the scandal, Vanessa,” he said softly. “I’m thinking about the fact that I almost married a criminal.”
