CHAPTER 3: THE WEDDING STOPS
CHAPTER 3: THE WEDDING STOPS
Minutes later, the grand ballroom fell silent.
One hundred and sixty guests watched as Thomas walked Dakota down the staircase.
Not toward the altar.
Toward the center of the reception hall.
Joan hurried after them.
"You can't humiliate us like this!"
Thomas turned to face the crowd.
"No."
"The humiliation began years ago."
He connected the flash drive to the ballroom projector.
The security footage appeared on the enormous screen.
Everyone watched Joan calmly cutting Dakota's wedding dress while Madison laughed beside her.
Gasps echoed through the hall.
Several guests covered their mouths.
Madison burst into tears.
"It wasn't my idea!"
Joan grabbed her arm.
"Don't say another word!"
But it was too late.
One by one, family members admitted they had noticed Joan's manipulation over the years but had remained silent to avoid conflict.
Thomas removed his wedding ring.
"I failed my daughter."
"I won't fail her again."
He looked toward Joan.
"Our marriage ends today."
Security quietly escorted Joan and Madison from the estate.
Neither woman looked back.
The ballroom remained silent long after the doors closed.
Then Thomas turned toward Dakota.
"I'm sorry."
"I can't give you back the years."
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"But I can spend the rest of mine earning your forgiveness."
Dakota embraced her father for the first time in almost a decade.
