Chapter 6 - THE COLLAPSE OF AN EMPIREGregory backed away from the podium, his legs trembling so violently he nearly knocked over the microphone stand.
“Clara...” he stuttered, his voice cracking. “Clara, baby... please. You’re confused. You’re sick—”
“I am sick, Gregory,” I said, stopping at the base of the stage, looking up at him with unyielding eyes. “I have cancer. But you... you and your mother are a disease.”
The lead detective stepped onto the stage, pulling a pair of heavy steel handcuffs from his belt.
“Gregory Vance, you are under arrest for aggravated domestic assault, reckless endangerment, medical deprivation resulting in bodily harm, and attempted murder.”
“No! You can’t touch me! Do you know who I am?!” Gregory screamed, trying to pull away, but the detective grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, and slammed him down onto the wooden podium. The dull THUD echoed through the room.
The crowd broke into cheers and applause as the cuffs clicked tightly around Gregory’s wrists.
Meanwhile, two female officers approached Jocelyn, who was still groveling on the floor, weeping hysterically.
“Jocelyn Vance,” the officer said calmly. “You are under arrest for felony denial of essential medical care, illegal entry, and corporate grand larceny.”
“Get your dirty hands off me!” Jocelyn shrieked, kicking her legs like an unruly child as she was dragged to her feet. “I am a woman of God! You will all burn in hell for this! Gregory, do something!”
“Shut up, Mom!” Gregory roared, tears streaming down his face as he was hauled off the stage. “You ruined everything! This was your idea! You told me she’d be dead by Friday!”
The entire ballroom went silent again as Gregory’s frantic confession hung in the air. He had just admitted to the entire conspiracy on live television, in front of four news cameras and over three hundred witnesses.
Ethan stepped forward, holding a legal folder. He tossed it onto the head table in front of the horrified church board members.
“That is a complete breakdown of the twelve million dollars stolen from my sister’s trust fund,” Ethan said, his voice cold and commanding. “Along with evidence of tax fraud, money laundering, and illegal wire transfers linking The Grace & Truth Foundation to offshore gambling accounts. Every board member who signed off on their transactions will be receiving a federal summons by sunrise.”
The board members turned dead pale, several of them immediately pulling out their phones to call their attorneys.
As Gregory and Jocelyn were paraded down the center aisle in handcuffs, past the very people whose respect they had spent a lifetime trying to buy, Gregory looked at me, eyes filled with utter desperation.
“Clara, please!” he begged as the officers shoved him toward the doors. “I love you! I was just stressed! Don't do this to our family!”
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I looked him dead in the eye, my expression ice-cold.
“You didn’t just destroy your perfect world, Gregory,” I said quietly. “You built it on my pain. And now... I’m burning it to the ground.”
