Victoria looked around the room like a cornered animal, realizing that every avenue of escape was sealed shut.
Victoria: You planned this... you set me up!
Ethan: You set yourself up the moment you stole from a dying woman.
Victoria: Ethan, please! We can fix this quietly! I will return every single penny from the Miami property today!
Ethan: It's too late for restitution. The federal warrant has already been signed by a judge.
Victoria's eyes flared with sudden venom as she turned her glare back toward Elena.
Victoria: This is all your fault! If you hadn't brought that bone marrow into this house, the old woman would have passed months ago!
Victoria charged straight toward Elena, raising her sharp acrylic nails aimed directly at Elena's eyes.
Victoria: I will ruin your pretty face, you worthless little rat!
Before she could touch Elena, Ethan stepped between them with absolute fury.
A loud, cracking slap reverberated through the hall as Ethan struck Victoria across the cheek with an open hand.
The force knocked Victoria off balance, sending her crashing flat onto the polished marble floor.
Her designer dress tore along the seam, her styled hair fell into a tangled mess, and her lip bled against the stone.
Victoria: You... you hit me! You can't hit me!
Ethan: I protected an innocent member of my household from a violent assault.
Victoria began to weep loudly, no longer sounding arrogant, but completely broken and exposed.
Victoria: Ethan... please don't do this... I love you! I did it for our future!
Ethan: You did it for your own shallow vanity.
Ethan gripped Victoria firmly by the arm, hauling her up from the floor without an ounce of sympathy.
He dragged her across the pristine foyer toward the grand arched entrance as she kicked and screamed.
Victoria: Let go of me! You are hurting my wrist!
Ethan: You abandoned my dying mother—you are going straight to federal prison!
The heavy front doors swung open again, revealing two Texas state troopers and two federal agents in dark suits standing on the porch.
Officer Martinez: Mr. Vance? We have the arrest warrant for Victoria Vance for wire fraud and elder financial exploitation.
Ethan: She's all yours, officer.
Officer Martinez pulled Victoria's arms behind her back, snapping the cold steel handcuffs firmly around her wrists.
Victoria: Get your hands off me! Do you know who my family is? My father will have your badges!
Officer Martinez: You have the right to remain silent, ma'am. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Elena and Evelyn watched from the foyer archway as the officers escorted the weeping socialite down the stone steps into the back of a police cruiser.
The flashing red and blue lights reflected off the mansion's tall glass windows before the cruiser drove away down the long private driveway.
Ethan closed the heavy doors, turning back to face the quiet house.
Ethan: Mom... are you alright?
Evelyn: For the first time in two years, Ethan, I can actually breathe.
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