Chapter 1 - The Frosting and The Fury.
The garden fell into a suffocating silence.
Only the soft sound of sliding frosting broke the quiet.
Grandpa lay motionless in the ruined tiers of the white wedding cake.
The wealthy guests gasped in unison.
Smartphones were instantly raised to record the carnage.
Nobody moved to help the old man.
They only cared about getting the best angle for their social media.
Thomas stood over the wreckage with clenched, trembling fists.
His knuckles were split and bleeding.
He breathed heavily through his nose.
His eyes locked onto his two terrified children.
They were still wearing those humiliating, oversized catering aprons.
He stepped forward and pulled them both tightly against his chest.
"It's okay now."
Thomas whispered gently.
"Nobody is ever going to treat you like that again."
His daughter sobbed into his shoulder.
"But Grandma said we are just leeches, Daddy."
Thomas felt a hot surge of sheer rage burn in his chest.
Grandma finally stepped forward from the stunned crowd.
Her smug, aristocratic smile had completely vanished.
It was replaced by a mask of absolute, venomous hatred.
"You have made a grave mistake, Thomas."
Her voice was cold, steady, and terrifyingly calm.
Grandpa groaned loudly and rolled over on the crushed table.
Pink floral icing smeared across his expensive blue silk shirt.
He spat out a piece of vanilla sponge cake and a mouthful of blood.
His eyes locked onto Thomas with pure malice.
"Call the police!"
Grandpa screamed, his voice cracking with fury.
"Arrest this violent, ungrateful animal!"
Four massive security guards suddenly emerged from the perfectly manicured hedges.
They wore tailored black suits and carried heavy batons.
They rushed straight toward Thomas.
Thomas tightened his grip on his crying children.
He braced himself for the inevitable physical fight.
But the guards didn't reach for him just yet.
Instead, they formed a solid wall between Thomas and the main exit.
Thomas stared at the guards in rising confusion.
Grandpa slowly pulled himself up from the ruined dessert table.
He wiped a thick, sticky layer of cream from his eyes.
A cruel, triumphant smile crept across his wrinkled face.
"Did you really think I'd let you just walk away?"
Grandpa chuckled darkly, wiping blood from his chin.
"This wasn't just a family party, Thomas."
Grandma walked over and handed her husband a monogrammed silk handkerchief.
She looked down at her own grandchildren with pure disgust.
"It was a trap."
She sneered loudly enough for the guests to hear.
"And you fell for it exactly as we planned."
Thomas stepped backward on the stone patio.
He kept his children shielded behind his muscular legs.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Thomas demanded.
"I'm talking about the company, you naive fool."
Grandpa spat onto the grass.
"I had my corporate lawyers draft the takeover paperwork yesterday."
Grandpa gestured to the crowd of guests holding their phones.
"You just brutally assaulted an elderly man in front of fifty witnesses."
"You are clearly mentally unstable and a danger to society."
Thomas felt a cold sweat form on the back of his neck.
"You can't take my company."
Thomas ground out through his teeth.
"I built it from absolutely nothing!"
"And I funded it, you pathetic charity case!"
Grandpa roared, veins bulging in his neck.
"The morals clause in your CEO contract dictates immediate termination for violent criminal behavior."
The security guards simultaneously took a synchronized step closer.
Grandma reached out her bony, jewel-covered hands toward the kids.
"Come to your grandmother, children."
May you like
She cooed with sickening, false sweetness.
"Your father is going to prison for a very long time."
