Chapter 9 - Total Collapse
“Evelyn—stop! Don’t listen to her, it’s a misunderstanding, a smear campaign!” Grant choked out, his voice cracking with desperation as he lunged toward the podium. “Security! Someone cut her microphone!”
Not a single security guard moved. They all knew whose name was on the building.
Sloane stood up from her seat in the front row, her face flushed with humiliation and fury, pointing a shaking finger at me. “You psychotic bitch! You planned this!”
“I didn't plan your greed, Sloane. I merely provided the stage for it to implode,” I replied calmly.
At that exact moment, the ballroom doors swung open wide. Two federal corporate investigators, flanked by local law enforcement officers, walked purposefully down the center aisle. They bypassed the stunned guests and walked straight toward the base of the stage.
“Grant Holloway and Sloane Mercer,” the lead investigator announced loudly, holding up official arrest warrants and federal freeze orders. “You are being placed under arrest for corporate embezzlement, wire fraud, conspiracy, and illegal asset liquidation of Hawthorne Holdings.”
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Grant stumbled backward, his knees buckling as reality crashed down upon him. He looked out at the society elites who had once praised him, only to find hundreds of cold, averted stares. Sloane buried her face in her hands, her golden gown suddenly looking less like a symbol of victory and more like a shroud of absolute ruin.
Handcuffs clicked into place. As Grant and Sloane were led out through the grand ballroom doors in ignominy, the crowd watched in stunned silence.
