Chapter 5 - Digital Fireworks
Behind the altar, the massive twenty-foot projection screen—normally reserved for displaying romantic slideshows of Julian and me running on European beaches—flickered to life.
The romantic photos vanished in a fraction of a second, replaced by a stark, high-contrast digital document.
HARINGTON HOLDINGS: INTERNAL AUDIT & OFFSHORE ASSET TRACKING CONFIDENTIAL - EYES ONLY
A sharp intake of breath echoed through the cathedral. In the third row, the chief financial officer of Harrington Holdings spat out his breath mint, his eyes bulging as he stared at the corporate header displayed in glowing white letters forty feet above us.
"What is that?" someone shouted from the middle pews. "Is that... is that the Cayman shell accounts?"
I turned back to Julian, who was now staring up at the screen with a look of absolute horror, his knees visibly trembling. He looked like a man who had just watched his entire life flash before his eyes—because he had.
"This," I announced, gesturing gracefully toward the screen as page after page of financial records began to scroll automatically, "is a complete and itemized list of every illegal transaction, tax evasion scheme, and embezzlement conduit run by Victoria and Julian Harrington over the past twelve years."
Chaos erupted.
The polite, hushed whispers of high society instantly dissolved into a deafening roar of overlapping shouts, gasps, and frantic camera shutters. Reporters from the Financial Times and the New York Post were already on their feet, furiously typing on their phones, broadcasting live updates to millions of readers across the globe.
Victoria let out a piercing shriek and collapsed back into her pew, fanning herself with her Chanel jacket while her sister tried to revive her with a mint.
Julian lunged forward, his hands clawing at my shoulders. "You crazy bitch!" he roared, dropping the golden-boy facade entirely as his true, venomous nature surfaced under the blinding lights of public exposure. "You ruined everything! I’ll destroy you! I’ll make sure you never work another day in this city!"
I didn't flinch. I stood my ground, looking up at him with a cold, pitying smile.
"You won't destroy anyone, Julian," I whispered, just loud enough for the microphone clipped to my lapel to catch every syllable and broadcast it across the entire sound system. "Because as of ten minutes ago, federal agents executed search warrants at your corporate headquarters, your Hamptons estate, and your mother’s penthouse."
As if on cue, the heavy oak doors at the back of the cathedral banged open.
May you like
A dozen federal marshals in dark tactical vests marched up the center aisle, their boots striking the stone floor with military precision. Leading them was Agent Miller, holding a thick stack of federal indictments.
The entire congregation turned around in stunned silence as the marshals marched straight past the pews, heading directly for the altar.
