Chapter 6 - The Trap is Set
I stared at Julian as if he had lost his mind. "Invite them in? Did you miss the part where I spent five years building this sanctuary? I’m not letting a reality show crew trash my living room."
"Not for the wedding," Julian said calmly, leaning back against the headrest. "For the rehearsal."
"Explain."
"Right now, Olivia is playing the victim," Julian said, laying out the strategy like a master chess player. "She’s telling your entire extended family, Mark’s parents, and the production company that you’re a jealous, vindictive sister who backed out of an oral contract at the last second. If you just call the police and block the road, she’ll spin it as an unlawful lockout. The legal fight will drag on for six months, and in the court of public opinion—especially on social media—you become the villain who ruined her sister's dream."
"I don't care about social media, Julian."
"You will when *Bridal Lux* airs a special exposing your address, claiming you illegally reneged on a signed charity event, and sends thousands of rabid internet trolls to your gates. These shows survive on manufactured outrage. They’ll doxing you in forty-eight hours."
I closed my eyes, feeling the brutal headache throbbing behind my temples. He wasn't wrong. In the digital age, being legally right didn't stop a mob from destroying your reputation.
"What does inviting them for the rehearsal do?" I asked.
"The production contract states that the primary talent—which is Olivia, Eleanor, and Mark—must personally sign the physical venue liability indemnification on-site before the cameras begin rolling for the rehearsal dinner on Thursday," Julian explained. "Right now, Olivia has managed to keep everyone separated. She tells the producers you signed it digitally. She tells Mark you gave verbal permission as a wedding gift. She tells your father that the production company is paying for everything out of charity."
Julian tapped the iPad screen. "On Thursday night, the executive producers, the corporate brand sponsors, your entire family, and Mark’s parents will all be gathered in your dining room for the pre-taping walk-through. If we force the truth out in front of the cameras, with the county fraud investigator standing in the room, Olivia won't be able to spin a single lie. The production company will cancel the broadcast immediately to avoid liability. Mark will see the proof in black and white. And Eleanor will have to answer for the LLC."
"And what happens to Olivia?" I asked.
Julian looked at me, his gaze unflinching. "She faces the consequences of the debts she created. But Mark walks away clean. And your property record is permanently cleared without a messy public trial."
I looked out at the two staging vans blocking my driveway. The audacity of it still burned like acid in my throat. They really believed I would roll over. They thought that because I was quiet, because I prioritized my peace, I was weak.
"Alright," I said, a cold resolve settling into my chest. "Thursday night. But on one condition."
"Name it."
"Mark finds out tomorrow morning. I will not ambushed an innocent man at a dinner table if he really is innocent. If he knows about the forgery, he goes down with her."
Julian paused, then nodded slowly. "Fair enough. Come to my hotel in downtown Santa Barbara at nine tomorrow. I’ll bring Mark."
I opened the car door and stepped out into the crisp midnight air. Before walking back toward the gate, I leaned into the open window.
"Julian?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell the production crew outside they can park their trucks in my lower turn-around lot tonight. Tell them the owner granted temporary access for Thursday's 'special event.'"
Julian smiled. "Consider it done."
May you like
I walked back through my iron gates, my head held high. For the first time in three days, the sickening knot of anxiety in my gut was gone, replaced by the razor-sharp clarity of a woman preparing for war.
***
