Chapter 6 - The Shattered Mask
Damian stared at me, his eyes wide, his breathing suddenly shallow. For three long seconds, he stood completely frozen, his mind desperately trying to process my words.
"You're lying," Serena spat, though her voice lacked its previous confidence, her hand tightening nervously around her wine glass. "She's bluffing, Damian! She's trying to scare you!"
"Am I?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Damian, who is currently attending our housewarming party downstairs? Let's recite the guest list together, shall we?"
I took a slow step toward them, my voice growing stronger with every word.
"Chief Inspector Thomas Miller of the Phoenix Police Department. Marcus Vance, the head of our corporate governance committee. United States Attorney Sarah Jenkins. And roughly fifty senior investors who currently hold seventy percent of our corporate debt."
Damian’s hand began to tremble. The black fountain pen slipped from his fingers, falling onto the carpet with a soft, barely audible thud.
"You... you recorded this?" Damian whispered, his face turning an ash-gray color.
"I didn't just record it," I replied, pointing toward the ceiling. "It was broadcast in four-K resolution with full surround-sound audio. Right now, Chief Miller is likely coordinating your arrest warrant in my living room."
"No... no, no, no!" Serena shrieked, dropping her glass of wine onto the floor, where the red liquid splashed across the cream-colored carpet like a pool of blood. "You miserable little bitch!"
Serena lunged forward, her long acrylic nails aiming for my face in a wild, manic frenzy.
Before she could even reach me, the heavy mahogany bedroom door buckled with a deafening CRACK.
The brass lock gave way as two heavy-set tactical officers from the Phoenix Police Department slammed through the entrance, their weapons drawn, followed immediately by Chief Inspector Thomas Miller and four uniformed officers.
"POLICE! DON'T MOVE! GET ON THE GROUND!" the lead officer bellowed, his voice booming like thunder in the enclosed space.
Serena screamed, stumbling backward onto the bed as the officers swarmed the room.
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Damian didn't even try to run. He stood paralyzed near the vanity, staring at Chief Miller with hollow, lifeless eyes as the reality of his total destruction crashed down upon him.
"Damian Vance, Serena Sterling," Chief Miller announced loudly, pulling two sets of heavy steel handcuffs from his belt. "You are under arrest for corporate grand larceny, wire fraud, conspiracy, and felony extortion. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
