Chapter 7 - The Iron Cuffs
The cathedral descended into absolute, deafening bedlam.
Guests scrambled out of their mahogany pews, phones held high to capture the spectacle as flashbulbs strobed against the ancient pillars.
Harrison Sterling pushed past his private bodyguards, shoving a federal agent backward with frantic arrogance.
"Do you have any idea who I am?" Harrison screamed, his face turning an apoplectic purple.
"I funded the campaign of the Attorney General!"
"I have the governor on speed dial!"
Marcus stepped directly into the billionaire's path, unyielding as granite.
"The Attorney General is the one who authorized this indictment thirty minutes ago, Mr. Sterling."
Two federal marshals grabbed Harrison’s arms, spinning him around against the wooden pew.
The sharp click of ratcheting steel handcuffs echoed through the aisle.
"Get your filthy hands off me!" Harrison raged, struggling vainly as his custom tuxedo jacket strained against his shoulders.
On the altar steps, Julian backed away toward the choir stalls, wild-eyed and panicked.
"Eleanor, you crazy bitch, what did you do?" Julian shrieked, stumbling over the hem of Lily's discarded train.
I walked toward him with calm, measured steps, my heels clicking deliberately against the polished marble.
"I didn't do this, Julian," I said softly, reaching inside my blazer and pulling out my gold badge.
"You did this to yourself the second you mistook my family for easy prey."
Julian stared at the Department of Justice seal in my hand, his jaw dropping in sheer disbelief.
"You... you're an agent?"
"Senior Lead Investigator, Special Financial Crimes and Human Exploitation Division," I answered.
"And your cell phone just finished uploading three gigabytes of encrypted cartel correspondence to our federal mainframe."
Julian lunged forward in a desperate fit of rage, his fist cocked.
Before he could close the distance, two plainclothes marshals tackled him to the marble floor with brutal efficiency.
Julian’s cheek slammed against the cold stone, his immaculate hair disheveled and plastered with dust.
"You have the right to remain silent," the lead marshal recited flatly, wrenching Julian’s wrists behind his back.
"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Lily stood tall on the altar steps, wrapping a dark wool coat around her injured shoulders.
Her tears were gone, replaced by a cold, unwavering clarity.
She looked down at Julian writhing beneath the agent's boots.
"You told me I needed to learn obedience before becoming your wife," Lily said, her voice cutting through his groans.
"Now it's your turn to learn obedience from the Bureau of Prisons."
Reporters pressed against the velvet ropes at the entrance, capturing every angle of the fallen dynasty.
The Sterling board members who had occupied the front rows quietly slipped away through the side exits, desperate to dump their stock before the opening bell on Monday.
Harrison twisted his neck around as he was marched down the aisle in chains.
His venomous gaze locked onto my father, who stood beside my mother with his head held high.
"Thomas, you will burn for this!" Harrison bellowed, spitting saliva onto the red carpet.
"Your company is dead! I will call the debt from my cell!"
May you like
Thomas Vance looked his tormentor dead in the eyes and smiled for the first time in an entire year.
"The only thing you'll be calling from your cell, Harrison, is a court-appointed public defender."
