Chapter 3 - Daniel Had Been Hiding His Mother’s Help From Vanessa for Years
Vanessa did not return to the ballroom with Daniel.
She went upstairs to the bridal suite.
Alone.
Daniel remained in the salon.
Elena was about to leave when he said:
“Mom.”
She stopped.
Richard looked at her.
Elena sat again.
Daniel remained standing.
“I didn’t mean you contributed nothing.”
Elena looked at him.
“You said I was unwanted.”
“I know.”
“And disposable.”
He winced.
“That word wasn’t—”
“It came out of your mouth.”
He sat.
The tuxedo suddenly looked too formal for the conversation.
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face.
“I’ve spent five years trying to get Vanessa to stop believing everything in my life comes from you.”
Elena stared.
“What?”
“She thinks you control everything.”
Elena almost laughed.
“Your wife just threw champagne on me in a hotel I helped build.”
“That is not an answer.”
There was something in Daniel’s voice Elena recognized.
Not arrogance.
Old resentment.
He continued.
“When Vanessa and I started dating, she asked why I always stayed at Whitmore properties when I traveled.”
“Because you had family rates.”
“Free rooms.”
“Sometimes.”
“When my apartment flooded, I stayed at the Durham hotel.”
“You needed somewhere to live.”
“For seven weeks.”
“Yes.”
“No bill.”
Elena frowned. “You were my son.”
Daniel continued.
“When I started brokerage, half my first serious clients came through people you or Dad knew.”
“We introduced you. You closed the deals.”
“When I had a bad year, you let me use the company office suite without rent.”
“For four months.”
“Ten.”
Elena stopped.
He was right.
She had forgotten.
Not forgotten that he used it.
Forgotten:
duration.
Because she had never considered it:
a transaction.
Daniel said:
“Every time Vanessa learned something like that, she looked at me like I was twelve.”
Elena felt anger rise.
“That is not my fault.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“But you never let anything cost me.”
Elena went still.
Richard slowly leaned back.
Daniel continued.
“When I made mistakes, you softened them.”
“When I was broke, you called it temporary.”
“When I needed a place, you called it family.”
“When I needed introductions, you called it networking.”
“When I wanted this wedding, you called ninety-six thousand dollars ‘one of the perks.’”
Elena felt exposed.
She had expected:
gratitude.
Instead she heard:
accusation.
“That help was love.”
“I know.”
Daniel’s voice broke slightly.
“That is what made it impossible to refuse.”
Elena stared at him.
“If I said no, I was rejecting you.”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Richard looked at Elena.
She noticed.
Daniel continued.
“When Vanessa said she wanted us to pay for the wedding ourselves, I wanted that too.”
“Then why take the credit?”
He laughed bitterly.
“Because ninety-six thousand dollars is ninety-six thousand dollars.”
At least he was honest.
Then:
“And because with you, help never looks like help.”
“It just appears.”
“You arrange it.”
“Discount it.”
“Call someone.”
“Make something disappear.”
Elena’s eyes filled despite herself.
“I thought I was making your life easier.”
“You were.”
Daniel looked exhausted.
“And sometimes I hated you for how easy you made it.”
Silence.
Richard finally spoke.
“Daniel.”
But Elena lifted one hand.
Let him finish.
Daniel looked at his mother.
“I wanted Vanessa to believe I could give her something that wasn’t yours first.”
There.
The wedding.
The money.
The cruelty.
All compressed into one desperate need.
Elena asked quietly:
“So when she attacked me, you thought defending her would prove that?”
Daniel’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Elena looked away.
That answer hurt more than:
I was angry.
He had used her humiliation as:
evidence of independence.
Then Daniel whispered:
“I am sorry.”
Elena stood.
“I believe you.”
He looked surprised.
Then:
“I am not ready to forgive you.”
She left with Richard.
May you like
For once, she did not turn around to make sure Daniel was okay.
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