Chapter 10 - The Father Who Asked Twice
Julian’s father, Robert, had always been quiet.
At dinners, his wife filled the room with stories while he asked whether I wanted more bread.
Now he stood in my bridal suite looking older than he had at the rehearsal.
“He says there’s a banking delay,” Robert said. “Something about an investment you two need to close.”
Evelyn asked to see the message.
Robert handed her the phone.
“I told him I’d need to speak with you. He said you were busy and would be angry if I bothered you.”
“What investment?” I asked.
“He wouldn’t explain.”
Evelyn looked at me.
I shook my head.
“There isn’t one.”
Robert sat down.
Outside the window, delivery workers rolled flowers toward the waiting cars.
The whole world kept preparing for a wedding.
Inside, we told him enough.
The altered documents.
The unauthorized emails.
The unpaid invoice.
Finally, my mother.
He stared at the carpet.
“No.”
I said nothing.
He looked up.
“Are you certain?”
Lena opened the recording.
We played only the relevant section.
Robert’s face collapsed quietly.
There was no dramatic denial.
No speech about what a good boy he had raised.
Just a man hearing his son become a stranger.
When it ended, he pressed his hands together.
“I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t do this.”
“I know. But I am still sorry.”
That simple distinction hurt more than all my mother’s excuses.
He stood.
“What would you like me to do?”
“Don’t give him money.”
“I won’t.”
“And please don’t warn him.”
Robert looked toward the door.
“I need to tell my wife.”
“Of course.”
He paused before leaving.
“You do not have to protect us from the truth because we’re his parents.”
For the first time that morning, I felt the room become easier to breathe in.
Minutes later, Daniel called.
Northstar’s invoice had listed marketing work supposedly completed for Bellamy Jewelry.
None of the department heads knew anything about it.
The attached approval carried my signature.
A good imitation.
Not perfect.
Good enough to make my stomach turn.
Evelyn took the phone.
“Preserve the full record. We’re adding it to the complaint.”
When she hung up, she looked at me.
“This is no longer only about what they planned for tomorrow.”
My phone buzzed.
JULIAN: Dad’s acting weird. What did you say to him?
A second message appeared.
Answer me, Mariana.
May you like
Then a third.
You are not going to embarrass me today.
