Chapter 5 - The Vipers in the Ballroom
The ceremony passed in a blur of flowers, string quartets, and hollow vows.
I sat in the front row, my posture perfect, my expression unreadable.
Judith sat beside me, gripping my hand so tightly her knuckles were white.
I watched Jackson slide the diamond ring onto Natalie's finger.
I watched her smile—a smile of pure, unadulterated triumph.
She had secured the man. Now, she just had to wait for the money.
After the vows, the guests moved to the grand ballroom for cocktail hour.
I kept my distance from the happy couple, observing from the edge of the room.
That was when I noticed Natalie whispering to groups of our oldest family friends.
I casually walked behind a large floral arrangement to listen.
"It's just so tragic," Natalie was saying, wiping a fake tear. "Martha is incredibly emotionally unstable."
The guests murmured in sympathetic shock.
"She is entirely incapable of accepting another woman in Jackson’s life," Natalie continued.
"She even showed up today wearing a wig, claiming I assaulted her! We are so worried."
She paused, leaning in closely to the group.
"Jackson and I have discussed it. We might need to arrange professional, full-time psychiatric care for her after the honeymoon."
My blood ran completely cold.
She was no longer satisfied with humiliating me privately.
She was systematically rewriting my identity in public.
She was planting the seeds to have me declared incompetent so she could seize total control of my son and my husband’s legacy.
As the guests dispersed, a young waiter with a tray of champagne approached me discreetly.
He looked nervous but determined.
"Mrs. Westbrook?" he whispered.
"Yes?"
"I shouldn't say anything, but... I was serving the head table a few minutes ago."
He looked around to make sure no one was listening.
"I overheard the bride talking to her maid of honor. She was laughing about your hair."
He swallowed hard.
"She boasted that your money would belong to her by morning, and that they were going to put you in a home."
I looked at the young man, memorizing his face.
"What is your name, son?"
"David, ma'am."
"Thank you, David. You are a good man."
I handed him a hundred-dollar bill from my purse.
May you like
That was the absolute final straw.
My restraint ended right there.
