Chapter 8 - The Public Execution
The courtroom fell completely silent as the judge adjusted her reading glasses and examined the new documents.
"What exactly is the meaning of this?" the judge asked, flipping thoroughly through the undeniable wire transfer records.
Joshua leaped out of his chair, his face turning a dangerous shade of crimson.
"Those documents are entirely fabricated and have no place in a family court proceeding!" he shouted frantically.
Gretchen stood tall and addressed the judge with perfect, unshakable composure.
"Those are certified bank records proving my husband embezzled two million dollars from his own firm."
"He intentionally hid the assets in a shell company named after his mistress, who is currently sitting in the back row."
Every head in the courtroom whipped around to stare directly at Cheyenne, who was visibly shrinking into her seat.
"Furthermore, the settlement he just asked me to sign illegally transfers the liability of that stolen money entirely onto my name," Gretchen continued loudly.
Joshua lunged across the defense table, desperately trying to snatch the damning evidence directly from the judge's hands.
The heavy wooden doors at the back of the courtroom suddenly slammed violently open.
Four heavily armed federal agents marched directly down the center aisle, their badges flashing brightly under the fluorescent lights.
"Joshua Miller, you are under arrest for massive wire fraud, grand larceny, and federal money laundering," the lead agent boomed.
Joshua froze in absolute terror, his hands trembling as the federal agents aggressively surrounded him.
He looked wildly at Cheyenne, silently pleading for her to somehow fix the collapsing nightmare.
Cheyenne stood up immediately, grabbed her designer purse, and forcefully pointed a manicured finger directly at Joshua.
"He forced me to do it, I had absolutely no idea the money was stolen!" she screamed hysterically.
The federal agents completely ignored her terrible acting and placed heavy steel handcuffs on both of them.
As Joshua was forcefully dragged past Gretchen, he glared at her with pure, unadulterated venom.
"You are a dead woman," he hissed heavily through gritted teeth.
Gretchen leaned in close and whispered so only he could hear.
May you like
"Victor sends his regards, and he says he will be seeing you very soon in federal lockup."
Joshua's face turned completely chalk-white as he finally realized exactly who had provided the bulletproof evidence.
