Chapter 8 - Cracks in the DynastyDiane Vance rushed toward the stage, her aristocratic voice shrieking in high-pitched panic. âUn-hand my son! Do you know who we are?! We are the Vances! We will sue this entire department!â
Special Agent Reyes handed a second document to a female officer standing beside her.
âDiane Vance,â the officer stated coldly. âYou are under arrest as an accessory to corporate fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and filing a false police report.â
Dianeâs jaw dropped. The pearl necklace around her neck caught on her collar as the officer pinned her arms behind her back, snapping handcuffs around her wrists in front of all four hundred of her high-society peers.
Reporters and news camera crews who had been invited to cover the corporate anniversary were now broadcasting the entire raid live across the country.
Social media blew up instantly with hashtags: #HartwellGalaExposed #TidesOfReckoning #JusticeForMaya #EthanVanceArrested.
As the marshals led Ethan, Vanessa, and Diane down the center aisle in heavy chains, Ethan turned his head toward the stage, his face streaming with tears of panic and shame.
âMaya! Please!â Ethan sobbed as he passed the stage. âIâm sorry! Iâll give the money back! Please tell them!â
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I stood at the edge of the stage, wrapped in my coat, looking down at him with the calm, quiet authority of someone who had survived his worst violence.
âYouâre not sorry you did it, Ethan,â I said, my voice carrying clearly through the room. âYouâre just sorry I didn't stay on the beach.â
