Chapter 8 - The Wedding Crasher
I slowly turned around to face the barrel of a silver pistol.
Sebastian was standing in the doorway, his shoulder roughly bandaged and his eyes completely bloodshot.
"Put the folder down, Mariana," he demanded, his hand shaking violently.
"This is my life, Sebastian, and you have no right to it," I told him fiercely.
"If you walk out of here with that, my entire future is destroyed," he pleaded pathetically.
"Your future was built on the blood of my mother," I screamed at him.
I clutched the red folder tightly to my chest and refused to back down.
"I do not want to shoot you, but I will," he threatened, stepping closer.
Suddenly, a loud police siren wailed from the front driveway of the estate.
Alexander had called the federal authorities instead of the corrupt local police.
The flashing red and blue lights illuminated the dark study through the large windows.
Sebastian looked out the window in absolute panic, realizing his privileged life was over.
He dropped the gun onto the expensive Persian rug and fell to his knees in defeat.
I stepped over his pathetic, sobbing form and ran downstairs.
Federal agents were already swarming the grand foyer, handcuffing a screaming Beatrice.
I ran out the front door and collapsed into Alexander's waiting arms.
He held me tightly, sobbing openly as he finally embraced his lost niece.
Agents escorted a bloody and defeated Richard out of the woods in heavy chains.
The nightmare that had consumed my entire existence was finally coming to a decisive end.
A week later, the highly publicized Sterling wedding was officially canceled.
The media relentlessly exposed the massive fraud, adoption crimes, and embezzlement committed by the Sterling family.
Richard, Beatrice, and Sebastian were all facing decades in federal prison for their horrific crimes.
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Alexander legally restored my true identity and my rightful place in the Vance family empire.
I was finally free, wealthy, and surrounded by a father figure who truly loved me.
