Chapter 2: The Cage Closes
The sound of the gates locking was like a gunshot echoing through the garden. Every guest turned toward the perimeter. The security guards, who moments ago were working for Richard, were now standing by the gates, their backs turned to the wedding and their faces grimly focused on the boundary.
"What is this?" Richard whispered, his voice trembling so violently he could barely form the words. "This... this isn't possible. The bank—the acquisition was supposed to go through on Monday."
The woman in the denim jacket finally spoke. Her voice was steady, resonant, and devoid of the pettiness that currently consumed the wedding party. "It didn't go through Monday, Richard. It went through an hour ago. The Blackwood Estate doesn't belong to your shell company anymore. It belongs to me."
Chloe laughed, a high, hysterical sound. "You? You’re a squatter! A beggar! You didn't buy this place! You can't even afford the taxes on this garden!"
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The woman smiled, a small, sad thing. "You spent your life measuring worth by the price tag on the clothes people wear. You never learned to look at the name on the deed. My name is Elena Blackwood. This was my father's home before you tricked him into bankruptcy, and today, I've simply come to reclaim my family’s legacy."
The guests were trapped. The bar, the catering, the expensive floral arrangements—all of it was suddenly on private property that Elena now controlled. The "unwanted guest" was the landlord.
