Chapter 5 - The Arrest
The heavy double doors of the front foyer rattled as police officers knocked loudly.
"LAPD! Open the door!"
Victoria took a step toward the box, her hand reaching out. "Daniel, make your decision! Now!"
I didn't hand her the box. Instead, I pulled out my phone, tapped the cloud application, and executed an immediate, irreversible command: EXPORT ALL ARCHIVES TO INDEPENDENT SERVER.
Within three seconds, every video file, every microphone recording, and every digitized page of the documents scanned by the camera array were transmitted to an offshore server managed by my private security firm in Zurich.
"What did you just do?" Victoria gasped, realizing what she had just witnessed.
"I gave myself a fighting chance," I said.
I walked past her, carrying the steel chest in my arms, and walked toward the front entrance. Victoria ran after me, grabbing my sleeve, her nails digging into my coat.
"Daniel, stop! You're destroying both of us!"
I threw open the heavy oak front doors.
Four armed police officers were standing on the porch, their weapons drawn in low-ready positions. Detective Miller, a tall man with graying hair and a stern face, stood at the front.
"Hands where we can see them!" Miller ordered sharply.
I immediately set the steel box down on the threshold, raising both of my hands into the air.
"Officer," I said calmly. "My name is Daniel Vance. I called you. My maid is upstairs, injured and requiring medical assistance. My fiancée, Victoria Sterling, assaulted her inside the dining room."
Detective Miller gestured to his officers. Two of them moved past me into the house, secure in tactical formation, while Miller stepped up to the porch, his eyes falling on the broken steel box and the stamped DOJ documents visible inside.
Victoria stepped out onto the porch, her hands smoothed over her ivory dress, her expression instantly transforming into one of distressed innocence.
"Officer, thank God you're here," Victoria wept softly, tears miraculously appearing in her eyes. "My fiancé has lost his mind. He attacked our maid in a fit of rage, and when I tried to stop him, he threatened me with that steel box!"
I looked at her, stunned by the sheer speed and perfection of her lie.
Miller looked between the two of us, his expression unreadable. "Where is the victim?"
"Upstairs," I said firmly. "Guest room on the left. She locked herself in for protection."
One of the officers gestured from the top of the stairs. "Sir, I have the victim. She's injured. Requesting paramedics."
A minute later, Mia was led down the stairs by an officer. She was pale, her arm bruised, but her posture was surprisingly firm.
Detective Miller walked over to her. "Miss, can you tell me what happened here today?"
Victoria took a step toward Mia, offering a gentle, motherly look. "Mia, sweetheart, tell the officer the truth. Tell him how Daniel lost his temper—"
"Quiet," Miller commanded Victoria sharply. He turned back to Mia. "Go ahead, Miss."
Mia looked at Victoria, then at me. She swallowed hard, her voice trembling but clear.
"Mr. Vance saved my life," Mia stated loudly. "Miss Sterling was beating me with a riding crop because I found that steel box in the study. Mr. Vance walked in, protected me, and recorded everything on his security system."
Victoria's face turned pale once more. "She's lying! He paid her off!"
"We have the video footage, Detective," I added, holding up my phone. "It's already uploaded to an off-site cloud server and verified by time-stamped metadata. Miss Sterling admitted on tape that she hid those forged documents in my home."
Detective Miller looked at the phone, then down at the DOJ documents in the box. He recognized the red seal immediately.
"Mr. Vance, Miss Sterling," Miller said grimly. "Neither of you is leaving this property. Officers, secure the box as evidence. Call the financial crimes unit."
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As an officer stepped forward and placed handcuffs around Victoria's wrists, she didn't scream or cry. She turned her head, looking at me with dark, promise-filled eyes.
"This isn't over, Daniel," she whispered as she was led down the driveway toward the police car. "My father owns every judge in this county. You'll be in a cell before midnight."
