“Those materials have not been publicly displayed.
They were provided to the appropriate attorneys under seal.”
Daniel’s face changed.
Not dramatically.
That made it worse.
“Which billing codes?”
Rebecca glanced at me, then at the court order.
“I cannot discuss sealed attachments in this room.”
Ethan forced a laugh.
“Because there is nothing there.
This is theater.”
The phone advanced to the next recovered message automatically.
Use Northline until the review ends.
D.M.
never checks transfers below fifty.
Daniel read it twice.
His initials were D.M.
“Who sent that?” he asked.
Rebecca answered carefully.
“The message was sent from Ethan’s device to a contact saved as R.K.”
A man at the second table stood so quickly that his chair tipped backward.
Robert Kane, the firm’s finance director, looked toward the nearest exit.
Two security officers had appeared beside the ballroom doors.
Daniel’s voice remained level.
“Sit down, Robert.”
Robert did not move.
Ethan pointed at the phone.
“Anyone could have typed those messages.
Claire had the device for weeks.”
Rebecca removed a forensic report from her folder.
“The data includes server timestamps, account tokens, device identifiers, and cloud backups obtained through legal process.
The preliminary examiner found no evidence that the messages were created or altered after the phone was recovered.”
Lila looked from Ethan to Robert.
“You told me Northline was a dormant vendor.”
Ethan reached for her arm.
She pulled away before he touched her.
“Lila, listen to me.
Claire has been obsessed with ruining us since the divorce.”
“Us?” she asked.
“Or you?”
He lowered his voice.
“Do not do this here.”
The irony moved through the room like a cold draft.
Lila looked at the guests, the flowers, the towering cake, and the photographers who had captured every second of her perfect wedding.
“You invited her here,” she said.
“You put a microphone in your hand and humiliated her in front of everyone.
You made this happen here.”
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“I paid for this entire wedding.”
Daniel’s gaze shifted toward him.
“Did you?”
Ethan froze.
Daniel took out his phone and called someone.
He spoke quietly for less than a minute, then ended the call.
“The firm advanced no wedding expenses,” he said.
