The Groom Who Chose His Mother
Chapter 04 - The Groom Who Chose His Mother
Adrian requested a private conversation with Emily.
She almost refused.
They met in the bridal room, where untouched champagne and white silk robes waited for a celebration that no longer existed.
Adrian closed the door.
“I did not know about your mother.”
“You knew your mother planned to humiliate me.”
“I saw the report this morning.”
“And believed it immediately.”
“The accounts had your name.”
“You never asked.”
“I was standing in front of four hundred people.”
“So was I.”
Adrian removed his bow tie and paced.
He insisted Victoria had spent weeks warning him that Emily wanted access to the family trust. She showed him messages supposedly sent by Emily to a private investigator, asking about the value of Whitmore assets.
Emily had never seen the messages.
“Why would your mother forge evidence against me?” she asked.
Adrian looked toward the door.
“She said you had begun asking about old Bellamy records.”
“I asked the foundation why three schools lost funding.”
The answer seemed to connect something in his mind.
Two months earlier, Emily had volunteered to review scholarship applications. She found that several grants existed only on paper. When she questioned the discrepancies, Victoria removed her from the committee.
Adrian called it a misunderstanding.
Now Emily understood that the financial scheme connected to her mother had never stopped.
Adrian reached for her hand.
She stepped away.
“I made a mistake.”
“You watched your mother turn our wedding into a trial.”
“I was angry.”
“You called me a liar without hearing one answer.”
He lowered his voice. “What do you want me to do?”
Emily looked at the wedding gown, the flowers, and the man who believed repair began only after she explained the required action.
“Tell the police everything.”
“My family’s lawyers will handle it.”
“No. You will tell them when she gave you the folder, what she said, and who created the records.”
Adrian hesitated.
That hesitation decided what Emily could not.
She removed the veil and placed it on the table.
“You are still protecting her.”
“She is my mother.”
“And Rose was mine.”
Adrian flinched.
Emily opened the door.
He followed her into the corridor, where reporters waited behind security barriers.
“Emily, please.”
She turned once.
“I loved the man who promised he would stand beside me when the room became hostile.”
“I am standing here now.”
“No. You are standing where the evidence forced you.”
She walked away with Claire.
May you like
Adrian remained beneath the white flowers arranged for their marriage.
For the first time, he understood that discovering his mother’s crime did not automatically make him innocent of his own choice.
