Her words sliced through the noise, forcing the room into silence. Even the soldiers standing along the walls went still.
"You crawled out of some dead-end fishing village in the south with nothing but lint in your pockets. You couldn't even afford a proper suit. You were hiding in a back room of a social club, surviving on handouts and table scraps like that was a proper life."
Her voice rose with each word, years of suppressed resentment spilling out.
"If Seraphina's father hadn't stepped in and covered your mother's medical debts, she wouldn't have made it through the month. Don't you dare forget that!"
The room was completely still now, every eye fixed on her.
"We didn't ask you for a single cent in tribute when you married our daughter," she continued, her voice trembling with both anger and heartbreak. "Instead, we gave you a house. We gave you a car. We welcomed you into our Family like you were one of our own blood."
Her lips quivered as she forced herself to continue.
"When Seraphina found out you liked slow-cooked ribs, she didn't just order them from the restaurant. She hired a chef, learned the recipe from scratch, and spent weeks perfecting it. Just to make you smile."