Richard and Prudence were all smiles, greeting their guests warmly. Then they saw me walk into the venue, and the smiles froze on their faces.
It wasn't only them. A few people in the crowd who knew me wore strange expressions, their eyes darting between me and Prudence, murmuring to one another.
"What's Ernest doing here?"
"Didn't he already quit Pruitt Corp? I heard he sold his shares back to Prudence at a premium."
"The way I heard it, he threatened her. Said if she didn't buy his stake at a premium, he'd sell it to one of Pruitt Corp's competitors. So she had no choice but to swallow it and lost over a hundred million!"
"And I heard he made her pay him compensation for 'wasted years' on top of that. Asked for fifty million flat out, and she just paid it, glad to be rid of him."
"What a greedy piece of work."
"He's already taken nearly two hundred million off her. What does he even want, showing up now?"
As the whispers swelled, Prudence and Richard came toward me, both glaring.
Prudence frowned and bit out, "What are you doing here?"
"Weren't you the ones who invited me to your wedding?" I said evenly. "I even prepared a special surprise for the occasion."
Her frown deepened. She was about to say something when Richard cut in with a sneer.
"I honestly thought you wouldn't dare show your face. You got dragged all over the trending pages not long ago, practically a public disgrace. If I were you, I'd find a hole and crawl into it for the rest of my life. Better than parading around making a fool of yourself."
"Ernest, today is our big day, and we don't welcome a disgraced dog like you."
"Get lost. Otherwise I'll call security to throw you out, and then you'll be even more humiliated."
"Like I said," I told them calmly, "I came mainly to give you a surprise gift. I'll leave the moment it's delivered."
Before they could answer, I addressed the whole room. "Everyone, on this happy occasion, I'd like to announce something."
"Starting today, the Maddox family, Pruitt Corp's largest shareholder, is pulling out and withdrawing its investment."
"And every individual and company doing business with Pruitt Corp will become a target for the Maddoxes."
For a few seconds after I finished, the room went dead silent.
Then it erupted.
Plenty of them looked at me as if I were a madman.
Prudence was so furious she laughed, snapping at me, "Ernest, are you done with this circus?"
"Who do you think you are? You think you're the eldest son of the Maddox family, the richest in the country?"
"My patience has limits. I don't have time for your nonsense. Get out, now. I don't want to see you again."
Richard piled on, his face full of mockery. "You think because your name is Maddox, you can speak for the richest family in the country?"
"Did getting dumped by Prudence rattle your brain loose?"
"Ernest, do you even know what you're saying?"
"The Maddox family agreed to invest in Pruitt Corp entirely because of my aunt's connections, and she's right here today. Who gave you the nerve to stand up and say something like this in public? What are you, even?"
I said calmly, "And if I told you I really am the eldest son of the Maddox family, would you believe me?"
