Chapter 17 - Stripped of the Ring
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As the state troopers led a weeping, screaming Vivien Morrow and her shell-shocked father down the grand marble steps of Bellavista toward the waiting police cruisers, the remaining guests began filing out into the night in stunned silence. Within fifteen minutes, the valet line had cleared, the string quartet had packed their cases, and the vast ballroom stood empty except for the towering white floral arrangements and the hum of the chandeliers.
Near the dais, Marin knelt beside Isabella’s wheelchair, checking the older woman’s pulse oximeter with steady hands.
"Ninety-nine percent oxygen, and a heart rate of seventy-two," Marin said with a soft, amazed laugh, looking up at Isabella. "I think watching those handcuffs click did more for your circulation than six months of physical therapy, Mrs. Varelli."
Isabella’s dark eyes sparkled beneath the chandelier light. With her right hand, she tapped the wooden armrest twice—firm and unmistakable.
Yes.
Footsteps echoed across the polished parquet floor as Dominic walked back into the ballroom from the front portico, flanked by Carlo. Dominic had stripped off his black bow tie and left the top button of his white dress shirt undone.
"The federal marshals took Cross in a separate transport toward Providence," Carlo reported quietly, checking his encrypted tablet. "And Lieutenant Reeves has Vivien and the senator en route to the state police barracks in Wickford. Our legal team is already at the courthouse filing the civil asset forfeiture against every dime the Morrow family owns."
"Keep two of our tactical SUVs trailing the police transport along Route 138 until Vivien is locked inside a concrete cell at the barracks," Dominic instructed Carlo, his instincts refusing to relax just yet. "Julian Cross has other men on his payroll along the coast, and Vivien just confessed in front of two hundred witnesses that she can tie his syndicate to a murder plot. Cross doesn't leave loose ends talking to a grand jury."
"Already got two cars five hundred yards behind the cruiser, Boss," Carlo nodded before stepping out into the foyer to give them privacy.
Dominic walked up the steps of the dais and stood beside Marin as she rose to her feet. Up close, away from the crowd and the cameras, Marin suddenly felt the adrenaline draining from her knees. She swayed slightly on her heels.
Dominic reached out immediately, steadying her by her uninjured elbow with a warm, firm hand.
"You're shaking," Dominic said softly, looking down at her.
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"I've never stood in front of two hundred millionaires and accused a senator’s daughter of attempted murder before," Marin admitted with a breathless, shaky smile. "Usually my Friday nights involve folding laundry and helping Eli with long division."
"Because of what you did over the last twenty-four hours, my mother is alive," Dominic said, his dark eyes holding hers with an intensity that made Marin’s breath catch. "Nothing in this house will ever be the same again, Marin—starting with how you and Eli live."
