Chapter 8 - The Fall of the Pretenders
Suddenly, the distant wail of high-speed sirens began to echo through the affluent neighborhood, growing louder with every passing second.
Victoria’s head snapped up, her eyes bulging in pure, frantic hysteria as the reality of her downfall crashed down on her.
“No… no, that can’t be! Who called them? WHO DID THIS?!” she screamed, tearing at her own hair in complete madness.
Lucas looked down at his wristwatch with an icy, mocking smile that sent shivers through the crowd.
“Did you truly believe I returned to this estate alone just to attend your ridiculous little party?” Lucas asked with a cold laugh.
“Before I set foot on this property, my legal team handed this exact file and digital backup directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Attorney General, and the Organized Crime Division.”
“The sirens you hear are not local security guards, Victoria; they are federal marshals coming to seize every single asset you thought you owned.”
Right on cue, the heavy wrought-iron main gates of the estate were forcefully pushed open with a deafening metallic screech.
Four black tactical SUVs followed by three state police cruisers sped up the circular cobblestone driveway, their red and blue emergency lights flashing against the mansion’s marble walls.
Dozens of armed federal agents and state troopers in tactical vests poured out of the vehicles, their weapons ready and badges gleaming.
“FEDERAL AGENTS! NOBODY MOVE! STEP AWAY FROM THE EXITS!” a commanding voice bellowed through a megaphone.
The high-society guests quickly raised their hands, scrambling away from the terrace and clearing the entire poolside area.
Victoria tried to crawl toward the villa’s French doors, her mind completely shattered by the sudden invasion of federal law enforcement.
“Chloe, help me! We have to get to the safe in the master bedroom! The private jet tickets are inside!” Victoria shrieked to her daughter.
Chloe, however, shrank back against the lounge chairs, staring at her mother with sheer disgust and terror.
“Don’t touch me!” Chloe cried out, slapping Victoria’s reaching hand away. “You ruined everything! You lied to me! You’re a murderer!”
Victoria froze, completely abandoned by her own flesh and blood whom she had spoiled with stolen millions.
Two federal agents immediately closed in on Victoria, forcefully grabbing her arms and pulling her up from the filthy ground.
Click-clack!
The cold, heavy steel handcuffs snapped tightly around Victoria’s slender wrists, locking her in an inescapable grip of justice.
Simultaneously, two other officers disarmed and cuffed Richard Vance, dragging the groaning, bloodied man off the ground like a sack of garbage.
The lead federal prosecutor stepped onto the terrace, holding an official signed federal warrant high in the air.
“Victoria Sterling and Richard Vance, you are under arrest for first-degree murder, corporate embezzlement, grand larceny, and conspiracy to commit federal fraud,” the prosecutor announced with absolute authority.
Victoria looked at Lucas with eyes burning with helpless, impotent hatred.
“You won’t get away with this, you arrogant little bastard! I built this life!” she screamed, her voice echoing pathetically across the estate.
Lucas walked slowly up to her, his face devoid of any emotion other than pure, cold finality.
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“You didn’t build anything, Victoria,” he whispered directly into her ear. “You stole it from a dying man who was ten times the human being you could ever hope to be.”
“And now, you will spend the rest of your miserable life rotting in a concrete cell, remembering every single second of the pain you inflicted on my sister.”
