Chapter 5 - The Marble Lobby Confrontation
"Arthur! You ungrateful, malicious little bastard!" Robert’s voice reverberated through the phone speaker, cracking with incandescent rage. "Stop this childish temper tantrum right this instant! Reauthorize the card and clear this up with the management before you completely ruin your brother's life!"
Arthur didn't flinch. He brought the receiver closer to his mouth.
"The card is permanently frozen, Dad," Arthur said, his voice cutting through the speaker with icy precision. "And every vendor contract tied to my name is officially canceled. Legally, Cedar Grove cannot host an event, serve a meal, or even let you step foot on the property under my authorization anymore. Because I have just revoked it all."
In the background, a high-pitched, hysterical shriek pierced the lobby noise. It was Julian, his voice cracking with sheer terror.
"You can’t do this! You lying psychopath! Chloe’s parents’ private jet is landing in two hours! What the hell are we supposed to tell them when they pull up to an empty lawn?!"
"Tell them the truth," Arthur replied smoothly, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his desk. "Tell them you’re flat broke, your credit is in default, and the 'loser' brother you just publicly humiliated in the family group chat is the only reason you even had a venue, a photographer, or a cake to begin with."
A sharp, audible gasp echoed from the phone speaker. It was Chloe, Julian’s fiancée.
"Julian?" Chloe’s voice trembled, her tone instantly pivoting from aristocratic confidence to sheer, panicked disbelief. "Julian, what is he talking about?! You swore to my parents that you paid for all of this yourself! You told my father that Arthur was merely helping coordinate the logistics!"
The silence that blanketed the Cedar Grove lobby through the speaker was absolute. The meticulously constructed house of cards—the illusion of generational wealth, elite status, and financial security that Julian and Chloe had spent months erecting—was crashing down in real time across the marble floor.
"Julian?" Chloe’s voice rose, vibrating with sharp fury. "Tell me he’s lying! My parents invited half the country club! My father wired our wedding registry funds—wait, where did our registry money go, Julian?!"
"Chloe, sweetheart, don't listen to him, he's just psychotic—" Julian stammered, his bravado entirely evaporated, replaced by the pathetic whimper of a cornered animal.
"Arthur, please!" Helen’s voice suddenly broke through the phone, cracking with raw, unadulterated tears. The smug arrogance she had displayed in the group chat hours earlier was completely gone, replaced by naked desperation. "Please, darling! Don't do this to your own flesh and blood! Family helps family!"
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"And you helped yourselves to a hundred and ten thousand dollars of my hard-earned money before publicly discarding me for the crime of existing," Arthur replied, his voice dropping to a freezing whisper. "You wanted a wedding without me. Now you have one. Enjoy the empty lawn."
Without waiting for another syllable of their pleas, Arthur pressed the red button on his desk phone and severed the connection.
