Chapter 8 - When the Shield ShattersWithin minutes of Ethan’s arrest, the Winter Gala dissolved into absolute, chaotic ruins. The investors fled the building, their lawyers already drafting notices to terminate all contracts with Vance Developments. The local news crews, tipped off by Marcus’s team, were waiting in a dense pack outside the hotel lobby, their cameras flashing frantically as Ethan was led out in chains.
“Julia, please!” Ethan screamed, his face distorted with rage and tears as the marshals shoved him into the back of a dark transport van. “You're my wife! You swore an oath before God to stand by me!”
“I swore an oath to a man who promised to protect me, Ethan,” I said, standing on the hotel steps, the cold winter wind whipping my white jacket around my legs. “Not to a coward who hides behind a leather belt and a corporate trust fund. Enjoy the ride.”
The heavy steel doors of the van slammed shut, locking him out of the luxury world he had abused for years.
The next morning, I returned to the penthouse estate. It was completely quiet, empty, and cold. Judith’s legal team had already sent a frantic stream of settlement offers to my mother’s office, begging for a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for a massive financial payout.
I ignored them all. I walked into the master bedroom, picked up the thick leather belt Ethan had dropped on the floor that first night, and threw it directly into a cardboard box marked Evidence.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a message from Sarah Jenkins, the lead prosecutor on the domestic violence team.
May you like
The grand jury has upgraded the charges to include felony domestic assault with a weapon, based on the unedited penthouse video. He’s looking at a mandatory minimum of five years before we even touch the federal financial crimes, Julia. He’s done.
I smiled, looking out over the grand terrace at the morning sun hitting the city. The cage he had tried to build for me had completely collapsed on top of him, and I was finally breathing free.
