David gripped Laura’s arm and warned her under his breath not to embarrass him on his sister’s wedding day while Leo clung to her dress in terror.

David scrambled to his feet, dusting off his tuxedo, his face burning a dark, humiliated crimson under the chandelier light. "You're crazy. You're completely out of your mind. Somebody call security!"

"Call them," Laura said, holding Leo’s hand firmly in hers. "Call the general manager, David. Tell them to bring the master billing portfolio. Let's see whose name is on the deed of guarantee for the entire penthouse floor."

Mark Collins stepped between David and the bride, his eyes darting between the stamped receipts and his future brother-in-law. "David, answer the question. Did you take her money to pay for this hall?"

"Mark, this is internal family business!" Brenda interjected, clutching Mark's arm frantically. "Don't let her manipulate you! She's trying to sabotage our marriage because her own life is miserable! David is an executive! He has assets!"

"What assets, Brenda?" Laura challenged, pulling another document from her folder and holding it aloft for the surrounding guests to see. "The three commercial plazas in Queens that went into pre-foreclosure last November? Or the luxury vehicle leases that were repossessed from his mother’s driveway two weeks ago?"

A collective gasp swept through the crowd. Councilman Miller, standing near the third table, exchanged a horrified look with his wife.

"That's a private matter!" Evelyn yelled, pointing a trembling, ringed finger at Laura. "You swore an oath when you married my son! What is yours is his! A wife’s duty is to support her husband’s family!"

"A wife's duty is not to finance your grand delusions while my son is denied a five-dollar cupcake!" Laura roared back.

"He's four years old!" Evelyn screamed. "He doesn't need luxury! He's soft! You spoil him! A slap on the face builds character! In my day, a child who stole food from a display would have been locked in the cellar!"

"He didn't steal it, you wretched woman!" Laura shouted, her tears finally spilling over her flushed cheeks, hot and furious. "The server handed it to him because he hadn't eaten since breakfast! You told the caterers not to serve a child's meal at our table to save two hundred dollars on the headcount!"

"Is that true, David?" Mark asked, his voice hardening, his grip on Brenda’s arm loosening. "You cut the kid's meal from the banquet list?"

"It was an administrative oversight!" David stammered, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "The event coordinator made a mistake! Laura, stop doing this in public. We can go home and discuss the finances in private—"

"There is no home to go to, David," Laura said coldly.

David froze. "What did you say?"

"The carriage house is leased under my father's corporate entity," Laura said, her voice dropping into a calm, terrifying cadence. "The lease was terminated at eight o'clock this morning. The locks were changed while you were putting on that rented tuxedo."

Evelyn gasped, clutching her chest. "You locked us out? My furniture is in that house! My antique china!"

"Your china is on the lawn in cardboard boxes, Evelyn," Laura replied without a shred of mercy. "Just like your son’s luggage."

"You can't do that!" Brenda shrieked, stomping her satin heel against the floor. "This is our family! David is your husband! You can't just throw him out on the day of my wedding!"