Chapter 7 - The Rejection of Belle MeadeThe following morning, the high-society world of Belle Meade was shattered by an unprecedented scandal.
Rowan Bellamy called an emergency board meeting of the Bellamy Family Foundation and the regional District Attorneyâs Office.
By noon, federal bank auditors and state investigators launched a full criminal investigation into Whitmore Consulting, freezing all of Tessaâs assets and issuing warrants for evidence tampering, wire fraud, and grand larceny.
Rowan returned to his grand Belle Meade mansion.
His mother, Victoria Bellamy, stood in the marble foyer surrounded by floral arrangers and wedding planners, looking at her son in absolute outrage.
âRowan!â Victoria yelled, holding up a newspaper headline. âWhat have you done?! Youâve ruined our familyâs reputation! The Whitmore wedding is canceled! People are saying youâre going back to that thief!â
Rowan walked up to his mother, pulling his motherâs heirloom diamond necklace from his pocketâthe very necklace Tessa had planted in Marenâs closet eleven months ago.
âMaren wasn't the thief, Mother,â Rowan said, his voice quiet, cold, and filled with deep disgust. âTessa planted this necklace. Ray Mercer confessed. And you... you called Maren a gutter girl while she was carrying your twin grandsons.â
Victoria froze, her jaw dropping in utter shock. âGrandsons...?â
Rowan set the heirloom necklace on the marble console table, turning his back on his mother and the grand mansion.
âIâm selling this house, Mother,â Rowan declared firmly. âAnd half of the Bellamy estate trust is being transferred immediately into a legal fund for Henry and Luke.â
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âRowan! You canât leave Belle Meade!â Victoria shrieked, tears of pride and panic spilling down her cheeks.
âI left Belle Meade the day I let a lie drive my wife onto the street,â Rowan replied, walking out the heavy oak doors forever.
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