Chapter 7 - The Arrest
The scene in the master bedroom devolved into chaotic, humiliating defeat for the two people who had believed they were untouchable thirty seconds ago.
Two uniformed officers grabbed Damian, forcing his arms behind his back and snapping the cold steel cuffs around his wrists with a harsh, metallic CLICK. His expensive tuxedo jacket was crumpled, his slicked-back hair falling wildly over his forehead as he whimpered in protest.
"Victoria! Please!" Damian begged, turning his head frantically toward me as he was forced down onto his knees. "It was Serena! She planned the entire thing! She forced me to transfer the money! You have to listen to me!"
"You sniveling coward!" Serena screamed from the floor, where another officer was pinning her wrists behind her back. "You came to me! You were the one who set up the Cayman accounts!"
"Shut up! Both of you!" Chief Miller barked, stepping between them and looking over at me with a look of deep respect and concern. "Are you alright, Mrs. Sterling?"
"I am fine, Chief Miller," I said, keeping my posture straight, though a sudden wave of physical exhaustion washed over me. "The documents on the bed contain their complete restructuring plan. And the digital file on my necklace contains the full unedited audio-visual record."
"We have everything we need," Miller assured me, picking up the black folder from the duvet and handing it to an evidence officer. "The entire room feed was recorded directly onto our precinct servers downstairs via the media console."
As the officers hauled Damian to his feet, he looked at me one last time. The arrogant, charming COO who had ruled over boardroom meetings was gone, replaced by a terrified, broken man facing fifteen years in a federal penitentiary.
"Victoria... please," he sobbed, tears spilling down his pale cheeks. "Think of the twins... they need a father..."
I looked at him, my expression completely impassive, my hand resting protectively over my stomach.
"My children will know many things, Damian," I said, my voice cold, sharp, and final. "But they will never, ever know a father who tried to destroy their mother."
The officers dragged him out into the hallway, his desperate cries echoing off the marble walls as Serena was led out behind him, cursing loudly at every person she passed.
May you like
I stood alone in the quiet bedroom for a moment, listening to the fading noise of their arrest, feeling the quiet, steady movement of my unborn son and daughter kicking beneath my palm.
They were safe. My company was safe. My legacy was intact.
