Chapter 14 - The Trap Springs“You’re insane, Victoria,” Marcus snarled, taking a threatening step forward. “You signed a binding non-disclosure and settlement agreement when our engagement ended three years ago. If you try this, I will sue you into absolute oblivion.”
“Sue me all you want!” Victoria laughed hysterically, her eyes wild with obsession and malice. “I lost my board seat, my status, and my future Mrs. Whitmore title because of her! If I can't have your empire, Marcus, I will burn everything you love to ash!”
She raised her thumb over her screen, hovering directly above the Send button for a global media blast.
“Ten... Nine...” Victoria counted down with a manic grin.
My heart hammered against my ribs. I looked at Marcus—the man who had given me his heart, his name, and his protection. If he gave up his shares to save my hometown, he would lose his company. If he didn't, my past and my family's legacy would be completely destroyed.
I couldn't let him sacrifice his life’s work for me again.
“Stop,” I said softly, stepping forward from the shadow of the hallway.
Marcus whipped his head around, panic flashing in his eyes for the first time. “No, Emily, don’t listen to her! She’s bluffing—”
“She’s not bluffing, Marcus,” I interrupted, my voice surprisingly steady. I handed a sleeping Annie to one of the security guards with a gentle nod. “And she’s not going to win, either.”
Victoria sneered, raising an eyebrow. “Oh? And what is a broke single mother going to do about it? Beg?”
I didn't blink. I pulled my own phone from my pocket, unlocked it, and pressed a single button on speakerphone.
“Agent Vance,” I spoke clearly into the phone. “The trap is set. You can execute the warrant now.”
Victoria’s manic smile faltered for a fraction of a second. “What... what are you talking about?”
From outside the cabin, the heavy thrum of approaching helicopter blades suddenly drowned out the howling wind. Within seconds, flashing red and blue lights painted the snowy windows of the cabin in a frantic strobe pattern.
Heavy footsteps echoed on the porch, and the front door swung wide open.
Standing there wasn’t just federal security. It was a full detachment of federal marshals, led by an FBI financial crimes investigator holding an open arrest warrant.
“Victoria Sterling,” the lead agent announced loudly, stepping inside. “You are under arrest for corporate extortion, international wire fraud, and illegal tampering with federal legal proceedings.”
Color drained completely from Victoria’s face. The tablet slipped from her trembling fingers, hitting the hardwood floor with a dull thud.
“No... no, this is impossible!” Victoria shrieked, backing away as federal agents stepped forward, clicking handcuffs onto her wrists. “Marcus! You can’t do this to me! I’m a Sterling!”
Marcus didn’t even look at her as she was dragged out into the snow. He simply turned to me, his dark eyes wide with a mixture of sheer shock and overwhelming, burning adoration.
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“You... you set a counter-trap,” Marcus breathed, a slow, disbelieving smile spreading across his face.
“You taught me well,” I smiled, stepping into his arms. “Never underestimate a single mother protecting her family.”
