Chapter 27 - The Final Collapse
The silence that followed was absolute, broken only by the frantic clicking of the reporters' camera shutters as they captured the exact moment Victoria’s triumphant facade completely shattered into a million pieces.
Alistair Vance’s professional composure vanished entirely. He frantically punched numbers into his phone, trying to reach his firm's senior partners in Zurich, but his hands were shaking so badly he dropped the device onto the concrete sidewalk, the glass screen spider-webbing into a hundred jagged pieces.
"This... this is a fraudulent manipulation of corporate filings!" Vance stammered, turning his fury toward me, his face flushing a deep, angry crimson. "We will contest this in federal court! Judge Harrison will—"
"Judge Harrison was arrested by federal marshals twenty minutes ago," Julian interrupted smoothly, stepping up beside me. He held up his phone, displaying a breaking news alert from a major national wire service. *“FEDERAL MAGISTRATE ARRESTED IN MASSIVE JUDICIAL BRIBERY AND ASSET FRAUD SCHEME.”*
Victoria let out a small, breathless gasp, her knees buckling slightly as reality crashed down upon her. The designer coat that had symbolised her supposed wealth suddenly looked like a straitjacket. She looked around desperately for the reporters, but the journalists had already pivoted away from her, shouting questions at Alistair Vance about his firm's connection to the federal bribery scandal.
"You did this," Victoria whispered, her voice trembling with pure hatred as she pointed a shaky finger at my face. "You planned this from the very beginning. You knew about the debt! You set me up!"
"I didn't set you up, Victoria," I replied calmly, looking down at her with a mixture of pity and absolute detachment. "Grandfather Henry knew your nature better than anyone. He built a trap for greed, and you walked right into it because you couldn't resist the temptation of wealth you didn't earn. You did this to yourself."
Before Victoria could reply, two unmarked federal vehicles pulled up sharply to the curb behind Julian’s SUV. Four men in dark suits stepped out, walking purposefully toward Alistair Vance.
"Mr. Alistair Vance?" one of the federal agents asked, flashing a gold badge. "You're coming with us for questioning regarding transnational asset concealment and judicial tampering."
"You can't touch me! I represent international interests!" Vance protested wildly, trying to back away, but the agents efficiently pinned his arms behind his back and slapped steel handcuffs around his wrists, leading him toward the unmarked car as the camera shutters flashed relentlessly.
Victoria stood alone on the pavement, surrounded by the wreckage of her grand scheme, her face streaked with tears of rage and humiliation. She looked at me, desperate, searching for a shred of the sisterly mercy she had consistently trampled upon over the years.
"Myriam..." she choked out, her voice barely a whisper. "Please... help me. They're going to seize everything."
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I paused for a moment, looking at the sister who had tried to destroy my life, my career, and my legacy. Then, I turned around, walked up the grand marble steps of the medical clinic, and pushed open the heavy glass doors without looking back.
***
