Chapter 10 - THE ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT|
Friday arrived with a cold rain and a room full of people who had come to witness a celebration.
The event was supposed to announce Ethan's new leadership position and his engagement to Laya Hayes. Margaret had chosen a ballroom at the Ellery Grand Hotel, one of the properties held by the family trust.
She had arranged white flowers, champagne towers, and a stage bearing the Ellery Holdings logo.
I had not been invited.
That did not matter.
I owned the hotel.
At 6:45 p.m., I entered through the main doors wearing a black dress and a simple diamond necklace that had belonged to my grandmother.
The ballroom fell silent.
Margaret was standing beside the stage. Ethan was speaking with Preston Cole. Laya stood several feet away, looking pale.
Margaret recovered first.
"Naomi. How unexpected."
"I received the event schedule."
"You weren't invited."
"I know."
Ethan approached.
"This is a private event."
"In a hotel owned by the trust?"
He glanced toward the guests.
"Don't do this here."
"Then perhaps you shouldn't have scheduled it here."
Margaret took the microphone.
"Everyone, please. We are gathered tonight to celebrate a new chapter for this family."
I watched her smile.
"After a difficult period, Ethan has decided to step forward and take the leadership role he deserves. And we are delighted to welcome Laya into the family."
Polite applause followed.
Laya did not smile.
Margaret continued.
"Some people have tried to stand in the way of this future. But love and loyalty will always prevail."
She looked directly at me.
I walked toward the stage.
"May I?"
Margaret clutched the microphone.
"This isn't appropriate."
"Neither is announcing a corporate appointment that the board has not approved."
A murmur spread through the ballroom.
Ethan stepped forward.
"Naomi, stop."
I turned to the guests.
"My name is Naomi Ellery. I am the sole controlling trustee of the Ellery estate and the majority shareholder through the family trust. No leadership change has been approved."
Margaret's smile collapsed.
"That's not true."
I looked at her.
"Would you like the hotel attorney to confirm it?"
A man near the front raised his hand. He was the hotel's general counsel.
"I can confirm Mrs. Ellery's statement."
The room shifted.
Ethan reached for the microphone.
"These are internal matters."
"Then why did you invite the press?"
No one answered.
I looked at Laya.
"Are you comfortable with this announcement?"
She swallowed.
"No."
Margaret turned sharply.
"Laya."
"I'm sorry," Laya said. "I can't do this."
She placed her engagement ring on the table beside the flowers.
Ethan stared at her.
"What are you doing?"
"Ending this."
"You don't understand."
"I understand enough."
She turned toward me.
"I have copies of the invoices. I'll provide them to your attorney."
Margaret's face turned white.
"You ungrateful little girl."
Laya flinched, but she did not step back.
"I should never have helped you."
A journalist raised a camera.
Ethan moved toward the exit.
Daniel appeared beside me.
"Naomi, there's a development."
"What?"
"Preston Cole has filed an emergency petition claiming the trust documents are invalid."
I looked across the room.
Cole stood near the stage, speaking urgently into his phone.
"On what grounds?"
Daniel handed me a copy.
"He's alleging your grandfather lacked legal capacity when the trust was created."
I read the first paragraph.
Then I saw the date.
The petition had been prepared months earlier.
This was not a reaction to the events of the week.
It had been waiting.
May you like
And attached to the filing was a witness statement from someone I had never expected to see involved.
My mother's former doctor.
