Chapter 1 - The Countdown Begins
Elena stood completely still as the weight of her words settled over the massive ballroom.
Victoria stared at her with a mixture of absolute shock and rising panic.
The confident, imperial smirk that had defined the matriarch for decades was completely gone.
She quickly reached into her designer clutch and pulled out her heavily encrypted cell phone.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she dialed her private security chief to lock down the estate.
The call went straight to a dead, disconnected automated voicemail.
Elena smiled softly and gently rested her hand on her pregnant belly.
She informed Victoria that she had already paid off the internal security team weeks ago.
Julian looked back and forth between his mother and his bride in total bewilderment.
He had always known Elena was incredibly smart, but he never realized she possessed this level of ruthless cunning.
A sudden chorus of wailing police sirens shattered the quiet elegance of the night.
Red and blue lights began flashing violently through the towering stained-glass windows of the ballroom.
Hundreds of wealthy guests began murmuring in panic, slowly backing away from the Sterling family.
The heavy mahogany doors of the grand entrance burst open with a deafening crash.
A dozen armed federal agents stormed into the room with their weapons drawn and leveled.
The lead detective marched straight through the crowd directly toward the floral archway.
Victoria finally regained her composure, standing tall and preparing her usual expensive legal defense.
She confidently demanded to know who was in charge of this outrageous intrusion.
The detective completely ignored the furious matriarch and walked right past her.
He pulled a pair of heavy steel handcuffs from his tactical belt.
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The detective firmly grabbed Julian by the arm and twisted it behind his back.
He loudly announced that Julian was under arrest for massive corporate fraud and international money laundering.
