Hester let out a derisive laugh and cast a contemptuous glance at the shattered pieces on the floor.
"That slap was a privilege. You should be grateful I even bothered."
"And this junk of yours? What's it even worth? Don't tell me you're trying to shake us down over a pile of scrap."
My gaze turned cold. I spoke slowly, deliberately, enunciating every word.
"Scrap? Secretary Pruitt, your ignorance is showing."
"Every piece in my dowry is a genuine artifact, centuries old, some dating back over a thousand years. Each one is a priceless treasure beyond anything money can buy."
"What you just destroyed was a Song Dynasty celadon vase and a white jade bracelet. If you don't believe me, by all means, bring in an appraiser."
The room erupted into murmurs all over again.
Hester didn't buy a word of it. She sneered.
"I don't care what kind of vase it was. Someone like you owning Song Dynasty relics? Please."
Just then, my phone rang. It was my parents.
Their identities were classified, which made it impossible for them to attend the wedding in person. A phone call to congratulate me was all they could manage.
I hit the answer button, and my mother's gentle voice came through immediately.
"Elise, sweetheart, how's the wedding going? Is Scott treating you well?"
A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
"Mom, Scott canceled the wedding for another woman. They destroyed the dowry you and Dad prepared for me."
"They're demanding I apologize and pay them ten million dollars."
"What?!"
A beat of silence. Then my father's voice cut through, low and hard.
"Elise, tell me exactly what happened. I'm sending people right n—"
Before he could finish, Scott snatched the phone out of my hand and started barking into it.
"So you're Elise's parents, huh? Let me make one thing clear. Don't think some ancient favor with my grandfather entitles you to claw your way into the Delgado family!"
"I will never marry your arrogant, classless, utterly useless daughter!"
On the other end, my father's voice was calm. Terrifyingly calm.
"So you're the one who unilaterally canceled the union between the Summers and the Delgados."
"Richard Delgado built a lifetime of shrewdness and competence, and yet somehow he raised an heir who can't tell right from wrong and doesn't know the meaning of gratitude."
"Put your father on the phone. You don't have the standing to speak with me."
Scott's face flushed a violent shade of red. He ground his teeth.
"You dare address my father by name? You must have a death wish!"
"Your own daughter's getting married and you can't even be bothered to show up? You clearly don't give a damn about the Delgado family!"
Hester chimed in from the side, her voice dripping with venom.
"Calm down, Scott. I'm sure he's just too ashamed of how poor and insignificant he is to set foot in a venue this extravagant."
"Old man, take a good look in the mirror. What makes you think you're worthy of speaking to Chairman Delgado?"
With Scott backing her up, Hester's tone swelled with menace.
"I'm speaking now as the future daughter-in-law of the Delgado family. You have thirty minutes to show up at this wedding with ten million dollars in hand. You will kneel before Chairman Delgado and Scott and beg for forgiveness. Otherwise, I'll have people give your precious little daughter a very warm welcome."
"So you understand exactly what happens when you cross me and the Delgados."
No one had ever dared speak to my father like that. I knew he was furious beyond measure.
"Quite the audacity." His voice was steel wrapped in ice. "Then tell Richard Delgado to sit tight and wait. Let's see if he has the nerve to accept what I'm bringing."
Hester hadn't expected her threat, delivered under the full weight of the Delgado name, to fall completely flat. My father's commanding presence rattled her, and her face turned an ugly shade of purple.
"Fine, you stubborn old bastard. Let's see how long that tough talk lasts!"
She jabbed the end-call button and hurled the phone back at me.
Her eyes locked onto mine, frigid and sharp.
"You heard every word, Elise. If your parents are too scared to show up within thirty minutes, don't blame us for what comes next."
Half an hour. There was no way Dad could make it here in person.
Even by private jet, the trip from the facility would take at least an hour.
But if Dad had said it, he already had a plan.
These people had no idea the kind of trouble they'd just invited. Truly, spectacularly stupid.
I lifted my chin and stared straight at Scott and Hester, not an ounce of fear in my eyes.
"Scott, you really picked yourself a winner of a secretary. You dared to provoke my father. I'd start praying if I were you."
Scott flinched under my gaze, thrown for a half-second before his arrogance snapped back into place.
"Elise, cut the act. I'd love to see what kind of waves a nobody like you can make."
Hester chimed in right on cue. "Exactly. A woman with no money and no connections, trying to go up against us? Know your place."
That was when the commotion erupted at the entrance.
Every head in the hall turned. Jaws dropped, one after another.
A middle-aged man in a tailored government jacket strode through the doors, flanked by two rows of armed officers.
He was walking straight toward me.
