Chapter 10: The Frozen Account
The word *frozen* changed the entire room.
It wasn’t loud.
It wasn’t dramatic.
But everyone understood what it meant.
The money wasn’t just missing.
Someone had stopped access to it.
Marcus lowered the phone slowly.
“Why would the account be frozen?””
Nobody answered.
Simone sat down at the table.
The same table where she had imagined cutting a wedding cake.
The same table where she had planned photographs.
Now she looked like someone who had forgotten how to stand.
Evelyn moved toward her.
“Simone.””
Her daughter didn’t look up.
“I didn’t know.””
Marcus stared.
“You didn’t know?””
“No.””
“Then who froze it?””
Simone pressed her fingers against her forehead.
“I don’t know.””
I watched her carefully.
There was fear in her eyes.
Real fear.
Not the fear of being embarrassed.
Not the fear of people judging her.
Something deeper.
Something she had been hiding from everyone.
Marcus noticed too.
“Tell me the truth.””
She looked at him.
“I am.””
“No.””
His voice was quiet.
“You’re telling me pieces.””
That was exactly what she had done all night.
Pieces.
Never the whole picture.
Enough truth to make people stop asking questions.
Never enough truth to understand what happened.
Jordan’s voice came through the phone.
“Marcus.””
Everyone remembered she was still there.
“What?”” he asked.
“I think I know why the account was frozen.””
Simone’s head snapped up.
“Jordan, don’t.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Why are you telling her not to talk?””
Simone didn’t answer.
Jordan continued.
“When I found the account, I noticed something strange.””
“What?””
“There were deposits coming in.””
Marcus frowned.
“From where?””
“I don’t know. Different sources.””
My stomach tightened.
Different sources.
This wasn’t just wedding money anymore.
Jordan continued.
“But there were also complaints attached.””
“Complaints?””
“Yes.””
Marcus looked confused.
“About what?””
Jordan paused.
Then said:
“Unauthorized transfers.””
The ballroom went silent.
Simone closed her eyes.
I felt a chill move through me.
Because suddenly the story changed.
A person hiding money was one thing.
A person moving money that wasn’t theirs was another.
Marcus looked at Simone.
“Did you take money from other people?””
She immediately shook her head.
“No.””
But nobody believed the speed of that answer.
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Simone.””
Her daughter looked at her.
“I didn’t steal anything.””
Nobody said the word.
But everyone was thinking it.
Marcus sat down across from her.
“Then explain.””
She looked exhausted.
“I started an investment group.””
“What?””
“I thought I could make money quickly.””
“With whose money?””
Simone looked away.
That was enough.
Marcus stood again.
“My God.””
“I was going to replace everything.””
“When?””
“I don’t know.””
The honesty was painful.
She wasn’t defending herself anymore.
She was admitting she had lost control.
I looked at the wedding guests.
Some had left quietly.
Others remained frozen, watching the collapse of something they thought was beautiful.
A wedding wasn’t supposed to reveal people.
It was supposed to celebrate them.
But sometimes the biggest moments show you exactly who someone is.
Marcus looked at me.
“Darius.””
I nodded.
“I know.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“I need to apologize.””
I wasn’t expecting that.
“For what?””
“For believing her without asking questions.””
I looked down.
“Marcus, you trusted your future wife.””
“I trusted the wrong version of her.””
That sentence hurt.
Even for me.
Because I knew exactly what he meant.
Simone had spent so much time building an image that even the people closest to her didn’t know where the image ended and the real person began.
Evelyn picked up the catering card.
She stared at the signature.
“My daughter signed this.””
Her voice cracked.
“And then blamed you.””
I didn’t respond.
Because there was nothing to say.
An apology doesn’t undo humiliation.
Then the ballroom doors opened again.
This time, nobody moved.
A woman in a black blazer walked inside.
She looked around the room.
“Is Simone Carter here?””
Everyone turned.
Simone stood slowly.
“Who are you?””
The woman stepped forward.
“My name is Rebecca Ellis.””
She held out an identification card.
“I’m here regarding the frozen account.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“What is this about?””
Rebecca looked at him.
“Are you Marcus Carter?””
“Yes.””
She nodded.
“Then I need to speak with both of you.””
Simone’s face changed.
“Why?””
Rebecca looked at the room.
Then back at Simone.
“Because the account investigation found something unusual.””
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“What?””
Rebecca opened a folder.
“The account was not frozen because of a payment dispute.””
She looked directly at Simone.
“It was frozen because someone reported suspicious activity.””
The silence was unbearable.
Marcus whispered:
“Who reported it?””
Rebecca looked down at the file.
Then back up.
“The report was submitted by…”
She stopped.
Her eyes moved toward Simone.
And everyone knew before she finished.
“The account owner.””
Simone froze.
Marcus stared.
“You reported yourself?””
Simone’s mouth opened.
No sound came out.
And for the first time that night…
May you like
Nobody was asking where the money went.
They were asking why Simone herself had tried to stop it.
