As my new husband thought that I was asleep, I watched him sneak out of our honeymoon suite and slip into my bridesmaid's room down the hall. I smiled coldly, and then sent both families a mass text: 'Special surprise gift inside, come livestream the door opening!' Seconds later, when they flooded the hallway and flung the door wide open, my mother-in-law shrieked in horror, 'What on earth is going on here?!' Little did they know, this was only the beginning." / Chapter 7 / 10

Chapter 7 - The ArrestsThe morning of the final crackdown arrived with dramatic swiftness. Armed with the overwhelming evidence provided by the financial audit and Ethan's desperate confession, the federal authorities moved in simultaneously on all targets.

At 8:00 AM, federal agents raided Jessica’s motel room. The news cameras I had discreetly alerted captured every second of the spectacle. Jessica was led out in handcuffs, wearing gray sweatpants, her face buried in her hands as reporters shouted questions about her role in the multi-million-dollar corporate espionage ring. Her glamour, her arrogance, and her social ambitions were smashed under the cold weight of federal iron.

At 8:30 AM, agents arrived at the cramped rental apartment where Arthur and Evelyn Vance were staying.

Evelyn put up a fierce resistance, screaming profanities at the officers as they placed metal cuffs around her manicured wrists. "Do you know who I am?! I am Evelyn Vance! You can't do this to me! This is a mistake!"

"Evelyn Vance, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, corporate embezzlement, and illegal transfer of restricted technology," the arresting agent read calmly from a card.

Arthur stood on the balcony, watching his wife being loaded into the back of a black federal van, his face pale and lifeless. He had lost his fortune, his family home, and now his wife, all because he had turned a blind eye to the toxic greed brewing inside his own household.

From the top floor of the Montgomery Tower, I watched the breaking news broadcast on the wall-mounted television screen. The chyron read: MASSIVE CORPORATE ESPIONAGE BUST: SOCIALITE AND EX-EXECUTIVE ARRESTED IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR SCHEME.

My assistant walked into the office, carrying a fresh cup of coffee, and placed it on my desk. "The board of directors is assembled in the main conference room, Ms. Montgomery. The market has reacted to the arrests, and Vance Innovations stock—now rebranded as Montgomery Tech—has surged by thirty-four percent."

I picked up the cup, taking a slow, satisfying sip as I watched Evelyn's mugshot flash across the national news screen.