CHAPTER 2 – The Folder That Stopped the Wedding
CHAPTER 2 – The Folder That Stopped the Wedding
Raj did not hurry.
He walked through the ballroom with the calm confidence of a man who knew nobody could stop him. The music faded. The guests turned one by one until all eyes settled on the gray-haired attorney carrying a thick leather folder.
Sloan frowned.
"Excuse me," she snapped. "This is a private wedding."
Raj ignored her and stopped beside Laya.
"Mrs. Patel," he said respectfully, "everything is ready."
Noah finally looked up.
"Raj? What are you doing here?"
Raj opened the folder.
"I've represented your mother for twenty-three years. She instructed me that if anyone ever attempted to force her out of her property, I was to deliver these documents immediately."
The ballroom fell silent.
Sloan crossed her arms.
"What property? That tiny apartment?"
Raj calmly slid several documents onto the head table.
"The apartment."
"The wedding venue."
"The investment company that financed Noah's startup."
"And forty-eight percent of the shares in Carter Development."
Noah's face drained of color.
"That's impossible."
Raj adjusted his glasses.
"No, Mr. Carter. What's impossible is believing your success belonged entirely to you."
Laya finally spoke.
"I never wanted credit. I only wanted my son to have opportunities I never had."
She looked directly at Noah.
"But somewhere along the way, you started believing generosity meant ownership."
Sloan grabbed the papers.
"These are fake!"
Raj smiled politely.
"The originals were filed years ago."
Then he handed another envelope to Noah.
"Your mother's resignation as guarantor for every personal loan you currently hold."
Noah's hands began shaking.
May you like
Without her guarantees...
His businesses would collapse within weeks.
