Richard stepped into the back of a black executive sedan parked right outside the luxury wedding hall gates.
Driver: Where to, Mr. Vance?
Richard: Drive straight to the downtown legal office, Arthur. Mr. Sterling is waiting for me.
Driver: Right away, sir. Is everything alright with the wedding ceremony?
Richard: The wedding is over, Arthur. And so is thirty years of my silence.
Richard wiped a slight trace of red makeup from his cheek, his reflection in the dark car window showing a cold, unyielding glare.
He pulled out his smartphone and dialed a direct line to his private bank manager.
Banker: Vance Private Wealth Management, this is Marcus speaking.
Richard: Marcus, it's Richard Vance. Freeze all black card credit lines associated with Claire Vance immediately.
Banker: All credit lines, sir? The limit on her primary card is two hundred thousand dollars monthly.
Richard: Cancel the primary card, terminate the vehicle lease agreements on the sports car, and initiate eviction procedures on the penthouse suite.
Banker: Understood, Mr. Vance. Shall I transfer the remaining trust balance into the primary family foundation account?
Richard: Yes. Move all fifty-two million dollars directly into the children's hospital endowment trust.
Banker: It will be done within the hour, sir. Are there any other instructions regarding Ms. Claire?
Richard: If she attempts to call the bank or access the vault, inform her that her power of attorney has been permanently revoked.
Richard hung up the phone and leaned his head back against the soft leather seat as the sedan glided down the highway.
Twenty minutes later, he walked into the top-floor boardroom of Sterling & Associates Law Firm.
An older lawyer with silver hair immediately stood up from his leather armchair, holding a thick folder.
Sterling: Richard! I saw the news alerts on my tablet. Did she really do it?
Richard: She called me an unwanted extra at the altar, hit me across the face, and demanded I leave.
Sterling: Unbelievable. After everything you gave up to raise that girl after your brother passed away.
Richard: She never knew the truth, Thomas. She always thought her biological father was a god and I was just his boring brother who took her in.
Sterling: Her biological father died bankrupt, Richard! You were the one who built that fifty-million-dollar estate from scratch!
Richard: I let her believe her father left her a fortune because I wanted her to feel proud of her family name.
Sterling: And she turned into a monster because of it.
Richard: I thought giving her luxury would make her happy. But it only made her arrogant, cold, and cruel.
Sterling: Well, the legal trap is officially set. She signed the venue agreements and catering contracts under her own legal name yesterday.
Richard: Meaning she is personally liable for all the wedding costs?
Sterling: Every single penny. Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in venue fees, catering, and security deposits.
Richard: And when her black card declines at the end of the night?
Sterling: The venue owner will have no choice but to file criminal fraud charges against her for signed bounced checks.
Richard looked out the floor-to-ceiling glass window overlooking the bright city skyline.
Richard: She wanted to play the high-society game, Thomas. Now she has to pay the admission price.