Chapter 8 - The Arrest
The heavy glass doors at the back of the Four Seasons ballroom slammed open.
A squad of ten uniformed officers from the Minneapolis Police Department, led by Detective Miller, accompanied by six federal agents from the Securities and Exchange Commission, marched down the central aisle toward the stage.
Detective Miller stepped onto the stage, pulling a pair of heavy steel handcuffs from his utility belt.
"Gavin Pierce?" Detective Miller called out, his voice sharp and official.
Gavin looked up from his chair, his eyes hollow, his expensive hair wild and unkempt, his three-thousand-dollar tuxedo rumpled and ruined.
"Detective..." Gavin stammered, his voice high-pitched and pathetic. "This... this is a domestic misunderstanding... My wife... my ex-wife is framing me..."
"Gavin Pierce, you are under arrest for felony domestic assault, battery with a dangerous weapon, grand larceny, wire fraud, and federal securities fraud," Detective Miller announced loudly, pulling Gavin out of the chair and turning him around.
CLICK. CLICK.
The steel handcuffs snapped tightly around Gavin’s wrists.
"Get your hands off him!" Charlotte shrieked, trying to shove Detective Miller away. "Do you know who we are? We are executive directors!"
A female federal agent stepped forward, grabbing Charlotte’s arms and pulling them behind her back.
CLICK. CLICK.
"Charlotte Gable, you are under arrest for corporate bank fraud, conspiracy to commit larceny, and tax evasion," the agent stated flatly.
Mason tried to slip off the back of the stage through a service curtain, but two police officers tackled him onto the carpet, pinning his arms behind his back and cuffing him on the floor.
Bridget stood near the podium, crying hysterically, clutching her designer handbag as she watched her husband and brother being led away in chains.
Gavin was dragged past the central podium where I stood.
He stopped for a brief second, looking at me through tears of humiliation, terror, and total ruin.
"Sabrina..." Gavin whimpered, his voice cracking like a child's. "Please... talk to your father... We can fix this... I loved you, Sabrina... I was just confused by Charlotte... Please, don't destroy me..."
I looked down at him from the podium, my face calm, cold, and entirely unbothered by his pathetic begging.
"You told me I was mediocre, Gavin," I whispered softly, leaning close so only he could hear. "You told me I clung to you because I had nothing of my own. But the truth is, I was the only thing keeping your pathetic world from falling apart."
"Please, Sabrina! Please!" Gavin sobbed as Detective Miller dragged him toward the exit.
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"Take him away," Arthur ordered, stepping beside me and placing his warm, protective arm around my shoulder.
The crowd watched in silence as Gavin Pierce, Charlotte Gable, and Mason Gable were led out of the Four Seasons ballroom in handcuffs, surrounded by flashing media lights and shouting news reporters.
