Chapter 2 - What the Footage ShowedThen Marcus called me. His voice was low, careful.
"Maren — did Isabelle really not pay you?"
"No."
"She told me you offered the catering as a wedding gift."
"She lied."
He let out a slow breath. "How much is the invoice?"
"Twenty-seven thousand dollars."
Silence. Then, in the background, I heard Isabelle crying. "Marcus, don't listen to her! She's ruining my wedding!"
He answered, quiet and final: "You ruined it when you built it on theft."
That was when my mother grabbed the phone. "Maren, bring the food back right now. We'll sort out the money afterward."
"No. You had six weeks to sort out the money."
My father came on next, furious. "You're humiliating this family."
I glanced at the invoice sitting on my passenger seat. "You did that yourselves. On camera."
Then my second phone buzzed. A message from Marcus's mother.
Please send me the invoice. I need to know what else they've lied about.
So I sent it. Along with the signed order form. And one screenshot of a message Isabelle had sent me weeks earlier: Don't worry, my parents will make Maren do it even if we don't pay.
Less than a minute later, Marcus's mother wrote back.
Stay where you are. We're coming to you.
Not long after, Marcus showed up with his mother, his father, and the venue manager. Isabelle wasn't with them.
That told me everything I needed to know.
Marcus still had his tuxedo on, but he looked wrecked. "I'm sorry," he said. "I should have checked."
His mother held out a cashier's check for the full amount. I didn't take it right away.
"This isn't your debt."
"No," she said. "But our guests are hungry, and unlike your sister, I understand a contract when I see one."
Marcus glanced toward my van. "Can you still serve?"
I thought about Isabelle's face when I drove off. Then I thought about my staff, still waiting on instructions, my company name printed clean across every cooler, and all the years I'd let my own family use me because I was more afraid of a fight than I was of being taken advantage of.
May you like
"I'll serve," I said. "But my company name stays on every sign. And Isabelle apologizes publicly, before dinner starts."
Marcus nodded once. "Done."
