Chương 3
A few nearby relatives looked shocked. Eleanor’s mouth twitched.
“You always were disrespectful,” she said.
“You taught me.”
Mateo went for the utility cart.
Lila guided Eleanor toward a stone bench inside the gate. As she moved, she heard Savannah say her name behind her, not loudly, but with enough force to make her stop.
“When were you going to tell me?”
Lila looked back.
“When were you going to ask?”
Savannah’s face closed.
Lila regretted the answer before the last word left her mouth. It was true, but truth could still be petty. She had spent too many years treating accuracy as innocence.
She turned away and helped Eleanor sit.
The vineyard reception continued without a wedding.
Guests drifted toward the lower terrace in uncertain groups, collecting glasses of wine because they had been directed to do so. They whispered behind linen napkins. They watched Savannah walk into the bridal suite with Tessa and lock the door. They watched Caleb enter the west conference room with his parents. They watched Diane move between both families, speaking in low urgent bursts and checking every few seconds to see who might be filming.
By seven, photographs had appeared online.
By seven-fifteen, a twelve-second video showed Savannah gripping Lila under the gate. The clip began with the accusation and ended with the ownership reveal. Grandma’s final sentence was cut off. Caleb’s refusal to continue the ceremony was not included. Neither was the moment Lila ordered the staff to keep serving dinner.
The first caption read: BRIDE DISCOVERS ESTRANGED SISTER SECRETLY OWNS HER WEDDING VENUE.
The second read: NAPA WEDDING DESTROYED BY BILLIONAIRE SISTER.
Willow Creek was in Sonoma, not Napa, and Lila was not a billionaire. Those facts did not slow anyone.
Mateo found her in the service corridor behind the kitchen, eating a cold dinner roll over a trash can.
“You’re trending,” he said.
“I’m chewing.”
“You can do both.”
“I choose not to.”
He held out his phone.
She looked at the screen long enough to see her own face frozen beneath the gate. In the still image, Savannah appeared wild-eyed and Lila appeared almost serene. The frame lied about both of them.
“How many views?”
“Four hundred thousand on this upload.”
“That’s not a number that means anything anymore.”
“It means the tasting-room line will be unpleasant tomorrow.”
“Close the online reservations.”
“Already did.”
“Turn off public comments.”
“Marcy did.”
“Tell security no press beyond the gate.”
“Done.”
Lila looked at him. “Why do I employ you?”
“So you can eat bread over garbage while I run your life.”
The kitchen doors swung open. A server came through carrying untouched plates from the head table. Seared fish, green beans, little squares of potato arranged by people who had expected applause. The server looked at Lila, then away too quickly.
“Staff can take the unopened wine,” Lila said.
Mateo nodded.
“And pay everyone through the contracted end time.”
“Obviously.”
“Include the ceremony musicians.”
“I know.”
“They didn’t cause this.”
“I know, Lila.”
She dropped the last piece of bread into the trash. “I’m saying it out loud.”
“Yes.”
“So I don’t forget anyone.”
“I know that too.”
His voice softened enough to irritate her.
She wiped crumbs from her fingers. “Where’s Eleanor?”
“In your office.”
“I thought she wanted the guesthouse.”
“She said the guesthouse smells like decorative soap.”
“It does.”
“She asked for coffee.”
“At seven-thirty?”
“She said she’s old, not dead.”
Lila started toward the stairs.
Mateo caught her arm. “Your mother is waiting outside the office.”
“Of course she is.”
“She wants you to make a statement.”
“Of course she does.”
“She also asked whether the security cameras recorded the gate.”
Lila stopped.
“What did you tell her?”
“That I don’t discuss security systems with people who don’t own the property.”
“Subtle.”
“I was inspired by your family.”
Diane stood at the top of the stairs, still in her formal dress, holding her shoes in one hand. Without them she seemed shorter, though no less determined. Her makeup had worn away around the nose and eyes. She had spent two hours managing other people’s reactions and had not found one she could control.
“Eleanor is inside,” Lila said.
“I know.”
“You can speak with her.”
“I need to speak with you first.”
“Why?”
“Because she is not thinking clearly.”
The old machinery inside Lila started turning.
“She walked out of a wedding you wanted her to stay at. That isn’t the same thing.”
“She caused a public scene.”
“Savannah caused the scene.”
“Your grandmother made a dramatic declaration in front of two hundred guests.”
“After Savannah put her hands on me.”
Diane’s gaze dropped to Lila’s shoulders. “Are you hurt?”
The question arrived late and sounded procedural.
“No.”
“Then can we not use words like assault?”
“I didn’t.”
“Your employee did.”
“Mateo uses many words.”
“Lila, please.”
The hallway smelled of butter, dish soap, and the rosemary branches the florist had wired along the stair rail. Below them, the kitchen staff scraped plates into bins. The ordinary waste of a canceled wedding filled the air.
Diane rubbed the back of one bare foot against her calf.
“Caleb has left,” she said.
Lila had not expected the sentence to hurt. It did anyway.
“Where did he go?”
“His parents’ hotel.”
“And Savannah?”
“She won’t come out of the suite.”
“Is Tessa with her?”
“Yes.”
“Then she isn’t alone.”
“She’s humiliated.”
“So am I.”
Diane looked at her. “You’re standing in a vineyard you own while strangers online call you a queen.”
“They also call me a sociopath.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t.”
“You have power here.”
The word sat between them.
Lila leaned against the wall. “What do you want me to do with it?”
“Release a statement saying there was a private misunderstanding and that Savannah did not know you owned the property.”
“She didn’t.”
“Then say that.”
“Is that all?”
Diane hesitated.
May you like
There was always a second request.
“And say she believed you had taken Eleanor away from the ceremony.”
