“At my son’s wedding, you pointed at me in front o…

Charles found his voice first. He stepped forward, his face red, his jaw clenched. “This is absurd,” he said loud enough for everyone to hear.

“You expect us to believe that you, of all people, funded this wedding?”

I met his gaze without flinching. “I don’t expect you to believe anything,” I said calmly. “I’m simply stating facts.”

Diane moved beside her husband, her hands fluttering nervously.

The confident woman who had looked down on me all evening suddenly seemed smaller. “Linda, I think you’re confused,” she said, her voice strained. “The wedding expenses were handled through our financial advisers.

There must be some mistake.”

“There’s no mistake,” I replied. I turned to address the crowd again. “Every invoice submitted for this wedding was paid by Meridian Ridge Holdings.