4: 4
4
Once, hearing Ivan say something like that would have gutted me.
I'd have been heartbroken, twisted up inside.
But now, when he finished, there wasn't so much as a ripple in me.
Even my steps felt lighter as I walked.
The first thing I did once I was out the hotel doors was call the bank's customer line and freeze my paycheck card.
I'd emptied every bit of my savings for this wedding.
If Ivan and Tracey wanted to cut ties with me, then they could pay for the reception themselves.
A black Rolls-Royce with consecutive premium plates was parked at the curb.
The door opened, and a poised young man held an umbrella himself and respectfully invited me in.
"Miss Farley, welcome home!"
"The chairman has waited thirty years for you."
If anyone had been there, they would have gasped out loud.
Because the man was none other than the personal assistant to Nicholas Farley, president of the Farley Group, the richest family in New York.
Ivan and Tracey had no idea.
I was the Farleys' eldest daughter, lost to the world for thirty years. Wanda Farley.
Only three days ago, the Farleys had found me.
I'd meant to tell Ivan and Tracey the good news once the wedding was over.
Instead, before the wedding was even over, I'd been driven out of the venue like a stray dog.
The car turned into Hillcrest Estates and finally stopped before a sprawling European-style manor.
"Wanda… my daughter…"
The moment my father saw me, the man who had once commanded the business world couldn't hold back his tears.
"Dad…"
My own eyes went hot. I walked quickly to him and held him tight.
He stroked the top of my head, his voice choked:
"You're home now. You're home."
In that moment I felt a warmth I hadn't known in a long time.
To make it up to me,
my father transferred the Farley Group, worth tens of billions, into my name.
The manor we were standing in was signed over to me too.
On top of that, he gave me ten storefronts in the best locations in the city.
"I've already heard about the wedding…"
He looked at me, his eyes full of ache for me.
"Don't you worry. From this day on, the Farleys are the ground under your feet. Anyone who dares make you suffer even a little, I'll bury his whole family with him!"
I held my father's hand, about to tell him it was all right.
Just then the phone rang.
It was Ivan.
The moment I picked up, his furious voice came through:
"Mom, you froze the paycheck card?"
"Yes, I froze it."
I nodded and admitted it plainly.
And then, as if something had set him off, Ivan's voice shot up.
He was so worked up it cracked:
"What gives you the right to freeze the card?"
"Do you have any idea how humiliating it was when the hotel asked me to settle the balance on the reception and my card kept getting declined?"
I gave a cold laugh:
"The right? It's my paycheck card. That's the right."
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention. I didn't just freeze the card. I sold your wedding house too."
