Chapter 6 - The Fracture
Brandon turned around slowly. His eyes locked onto Lisa, who was shrinking back into the leather interior of the limousine.
"Brandon, baby, listen to me..." Lisa started, her voice cracking as the bravado drained away, replaced by raw panic. "Jake is lying! He manipulated the paperwork! You know how jealous he’s always been of your success!"
"Shut up, Lisa," Brandon said. His voice wasn't loud, but it had the razor-sharp edge of an attorney cross-examining a hostile witness.
The groomsmen and bridesmaids had exited their cars by now, standing in awkward clusters on the gravel shoulder. Several guests, dressed in expensive cocktail dresses and linen suits, were fanning themselves in the growing heat, whispering among themselves as they took in the bizarre spectacle.
"Did you take the ten thousand dollars I gave you for the venue deposit?" Brandon asked, walking directly toward the limousine door.
"I put it toward the event! I had to pay for the designer, and the photographer wanted a retainer, and—"
"Did you pay Whispering Pines?" Brandon cut in, his eyes blazing.
"Jake offered to help!" Lisa sobbed, the tears now actively cutting through her makeup. "He said he would cover it as a gift to us! He promised!"
"A gift?" Brandon spat, shaking his head in sheer disbelief. "Jake didn't say a word about a gift. In fact, he called me two months ago asking if we were still on schedule to settle the venue balance, and you told me he was just trying to borrow money again! You lied to me, Lisa. For over a year."
From down the road, Eleanor’s sedan pulled up, tires crunching against the gravel. She stepped out, her expression a mix of shame and exhaustion.
"Mom!" Lisa yelled, reaching toward her through the window. "Tell Brandon! Tell him Jake is doing this to ruin my life! He’s doing it out of spite because of Liam!"
Eleanor looked at her daughter. For thirty years, Eleanor had smoothed over Lisa’s messes. When Lisa wrecked her first car, Eleanor blamed the icy road. When Lisa failed out of college, Eleanor blamed the professors. When Lisa let Liam destroy my home, Eleanor blamed Caleb for being overly sensitive.
But standing on the side of a country road, surrounded by the wealthy in-laws Lisa had spent eighteen months trying to impress, Eleanor looked entirely defeated.
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"Lisa," Eleanor said softly, her voice barely carrying over the wind through the vines. "Jake showed me the receipts. He showed me the bank transfers. Why did you do this?"
Before Lisa could answer, the low rumble of a familiar truck engine echoed down the lane.
