Chapter 6 - The ScrambleChaos erupted in the foyer and dining room simultaneously.
Two federal agents swept past me into the dining room, their heavy boots thudding against the imported Persian rug. Before Victoria could even open her mouth to spew another insult, cold steel cuffs clicked sharply around her wrists.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Victoria shrieked, her aristocratic posture entirely abandoned as she was yanked to her feet by a towering female agent. "Do you know who I am?! My family built this city! You can't touch us!"
"Ma'am, you are being detained on charges of conspiracy, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice," the agent recited coldly, spinning Victoria around and pushing her toward the front entrance.
Natalie was frozen in her velvet chair, staring at her blank smartphone on the floor as if praying it would magically save her. When an officer grabbed her arm to pull her up, she let out a piercing, bird-like scream.
"Don't touch me! Get your hands off my designer jacket! Dominic! Do something! Call our lawyers!" Natalie wept hysterically, kicking her designer heels uselessly against the floor as she was dragged past me.
Dominic was hauled up by two male officers, his expensive tailored shirt—the one I had purchased for him with my own independent dividend checks—now stained with wine and dust from the floor. His face was twisted in a grotesque mask of humiliation and blind rage.
As they dragged him past my standing figure, he lunged forward, straining against the handcuffs.
"You bitch!" Dominic roared, spittle flying from his lips. "You planned this! Every single second! You trapped us!"
I stepped closer to him, closing the distance until I was right beside his ear. The metallic taste of copper was completely gone now, replaced by the sweet, intoxicating flavor of absolute victory.
"I didn't trap you, Dominic," I whispered softly, so only he could hear. "I just gave you enough rope to hang yourself. And you tied the knot with a smile."
Dominic’s eyes widened in sheer terror as he realized the full, horrifying scope of what I had done. He hadn't just lost his money, his estate, and his freedom; he had lost to the very woman he thought he had successfully broken.
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Without another word, the officers shoved him out the front door, guiding him down the steps toward the flashing red-and-blue lights of a waiting squad car.
The heavy front doors swung shut behind them, sealing the estate in a profound, heavy silence.
