Chapter 2 - The Proxy Trap
The ballroom erupted into sheer, unadulterated panic as Chloe raised the silver pistol.
Wealthy guests screamed in terror and dove recklessly behind the lavish banquet tables.
The four armed security contractors instantly drew their weapons and aimed them directly at Chloe.
"Drop the weapon right now!" the lead contractor shouted, his red laser sight resting directly on Chloe's chest.
Chloe did not lower the gun, keeping her venomous eyes locked entirely onto Emily's terrified face.
"My father is alive?" Emily gasped, her hands instinctively wrapping around her pregnant belly to protect her child.
Preston stepped quickly between Emily and the lawyers, his face pale with sudden, frantic desperation.
"Chloe, put the gun down, this was never part of our plan!" Preston yelled, sweating profusely under the chandelier lights.
"The plan changed the exact moment she found out about the inheritance," Chloe snarled, her finger twitching dangerously on the trigger.
The older of the two attorneys, Mr. Sterling, stepped forward with a thick, leather-bound legal binder.
"Preston, your marital trust has been officially revoked by the state due to your documented infidelity," Mr. Sterling announced over the chaos.
"You are utterly bankrupt and legally powerless as of five minutes ago."
Preston's eyes widened in absolute horror as his entire world crumbled into dust in a matter of seconds.
He looked at Emily, his expression morphing rapidly from shock into absolute, venomous rage.
"You planned this behind my back while carrying my child?" Preston hissed, grabbing Emily violently by her fragile wrist.
Emily tried to pull away, but his grip was locked around her like a steel vise.
"Let her go this instant, Preston!" Mr. Sterling demanded, stepping aggressively closer.
Preston laughed, a dark, ugly sound that echoed through the terrified ballroom like a death knell.
"She is my wife, and she is clearly suffering from severe prenatal psychosis," Preston declared loudly to the trembling crowd.
He reached into his tuxedo jacket and pulled out a stamped, notarized legal document.
"I hold a full medical power of attorney over Emily, signed by her own hand."
Emily stared at the document, a wave of nausea hitting her as she realized he had slipped it into a stack of routine hospital forms weeks ago.
"I am committing her to the Crestview Psychiatric Facility immediately for the safety of my unborn child," Preston announced with a wicked, triumphant smile.
Two massive men in white medical scrubs stepped out from the catering kitchen, holding heavy leather restraints.
They marched straight toward Emily with blank, terrifyingly emotionless faces.
Emily backed away, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs like a trapped bird.
She looked pleadingly at the lawyers, but Preston's medical proxy legally paralyzed them from intervening in a declared health crisis.
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One of the orderlies grabbed Emily's shoulder roughly, preparing to inject a powerful sedative into her arm.
Just as the needle approached her skin, a heavy fist collided with the orderly's jaw, sending him crashing backward into a towering ice sculpture.
