Chapter 4: The Collapse
The officers entered, their presence professional and clinical. They didn't look at Clara with pity; they looked at her with the respect one gives a high-ranking official. Liam tried to shout, to exert his "influence," but the lead officer silenced him with a single gesture.
"Mr. Sterling, you are being served with a warrant for the misappropriation of funds from the Vanguard Holding Group," the officer said, his voice flat.
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Liam looked at Clara, his eyes begging for a mercy he had never shown her. "Clara, please. It’s a misunderstanding! We can fix this!"
Clara stood in the center of the foyer, looking at the man she had loved, the man who had tried to throw her and their unborn child onto the street. She didn't say a word. She didn't have to. She turned her back on him, walking toward the stairs. She was the one who held the deed; she was the one who held the power. She watched from the landing as they led him out in cuffs, his face twisted in a mask of total ruin.
