Years of commanding servants and intimidating staff flowed back into her posture.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” she addressed the crowd, “we’re witnessing a sophisticated con game. This woman has spent months, maybe years, researching our family to construct this elaborate fraud.”
Margaret nodded vigorously.
“Victoria is right. She probably found old property records and built her story around them.”
Harrison joined the counterattack.
“The timing is suspicious. Showing up at a wedding with fake documents, hoping to catch us off guard.”
Angela remained seated, observing the coordinated response.
“Think about it logically,” Victoria continued, warming to her theme. “If she really owned this property, why wait until today? Why not contact us privately?”
“Because she wanted maximum embarrassment,” the woman in the pink dress added. “Maximum leverage for her lawsuit.”
The crowd murmured in agreement.
The familiar narrative of false accusation against respectable families resonated with them.
Victoria pulled out her phone.
“I’m calling our family attorney, Richard Peton of Peton, Hayes and Associates. He’ll expose this fraud in minutes.”
She dialed with theatrical precision.
“Richard, Victoria Bradford. We have a situation. Yes, at the wedding. Some woman claiming she owns our estate. Fake documents and everything. Yes, please come immediately.”
Victoria hung up triumphantly.
“Our lawyer is on his way. He’s handled property disputes for thirty years. He’ll know forgeries when he sees them.”
Ray Coleman shifted uncomfortably.
“Mrs. Bradford, maybe you should wait.”
“Wait for what? To be swindled?”
Victoria’s confidence soared.
“Ray, I understand she’s fooled you with her act, but you’re a police officer. Use your training.”
“My training tells me…”
“Your training should tell you to arrest someone attempting fraud.”
The crowd rallied behind Victoria’s renewed strength.
“She’s right,” Harrison declared. “This whole performance reeks of a setup.”
Margaret pointed an accusatory finger at Angela.
“Look at her sitting there so calmly. She planned this whole thing.”
Victoria seized the momentum.
“Exactly. She researched our family, learned our wedding date, crafted fake documents, even bribed that old fool Thomas to support her story.”
“Hey now,” Thomas protested weakly.
“Shut up, Thomas,” Victoria snapped. “You’re probably part of this scam. How much did she pay you?”
Angela spoke quietly.
“Mr. Thomas has been receiving his normal salary, nothing more.”
“Normal salary from who? You don’t have any money to pay salaries.”
Victoria’s voice grew stronger with each word.
“Look at her, everyone. Does she look like someone who owns a $30 million estate? Where’s her jewelry? Her designer clothes? Her expensive car?”
The crowd examined Angela’s modest navy dress with renewed suspicion.
“Exactly,” Margaret chimed in. “Real wealth doesn’t need to announce itself this desperately.”
Victoria approached Angela’s table like a predator.
“Where’s your Rolls-Royce? Your servants? Your security detail? Where are the trappings of real wealth?”
Angela’s silence fed their confidence.
“I’ll tell you where,” Victoria continued. “In her imagination. This is what delusion looks like, people. Mental illness combined with criminal intent.”
Harrison nodded.
“We see this kind of thing all the time. People who can’t accept their station in life, so they construct elaborate fantasies.”
The woman in the pink dress laughed mockingly.
“She probably lives in a studio apartment and dreams about owning estates.”
The attacks grew more personal and more vicious.
“The entitlement is staggering,” Margaret sneered. “Thinking she deserves what successful families have built.”
Victoria circled Angela like a shark.
“You know what this is really about? Jealousy. Pure, simple jealousy of people who’ve earned their success.”
“Mrs. Bradford,” Ray tried to intervene. “You should really stop.”
“Stop what? Defending our family’s property? Our reputation? Our right to live without harassment?”
Victoria’s voice reached a crescendo.
“This woman has disrupted our daughter’s wedding, traumatized our guests, and attempted to steal our home with forged documents. I want her arrested for fraud, trespassing, and harassment.”
The crowd applauded spontaneously.
“Richard Peton will have her in jail by evening,” Victoria declared. “We’ll sue for defamation, emotional distress, and attempted theft. When we’re finished, she’ll spend years regretting this mistake.”
Angela checked her watch once more.
“What are you timing?” Victoria demanded. “Your escape before the police arrive?”
“Not at all.”
Victoria leaned down, her face inches from Angela’s.
“Listen carefully, whoever you are. You picked the wrong family to mess with. We have connections you can’t imagine. Lawyers who will destroy you. Judges who golf at our country club.”