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At my own birthday party, my husband tied me to a ceiling beam and whipped me thirty times because I had spilled wine on his mistress’s dress. He laughed as fifty guests watched me endure the humiliation, but when they finally cut me down, I made one phone call to my five brothers, and seconds later, the mansion gates slammed shut. / Chapter 5 / 10

Chapter 5 - The Rat Flees the ShipWhile the Cole family empire was collapsing in the press, Vanessa Hart was frantically packing her designer bags in her modern penthouse overlooking the bay.

She had spent the morning watching the news in horror. The television screen flashed photos of Richard Cole being led away in handcuffs, with chyrons reading: COLE CONSTRUCTION COLLAPSES AMID FEDERAL FRAUD AND DOMESTIC ABUSE SCANDAL.

"Useless idiot," Vanessa cursed, stuffing diamond necklaces and stacks of cash into a leather duffel bag. "I knew I should have milked him faster."

She dragged her suitcase toward the front door, planning to catch the first flight out to Cabo. But as she opened the door, she found Nico Moretti leaning casually against the doorframe, tossing a silver coin in the air.

Behind him stood two uniformed police officers and a stern-looking woman in a business suit from the state prosecutor's office.

Vanessa paled, stepping back into her apartment. "Who are you? What is this?"

"Vanessa Jenkins, right?" Nico smiled, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. "Or should I call you Sarah Miller? Or maybe Victoria Vance? You've had so many names over the past six years, it's hard to keep track."

Vanessa’s eyes darted toward the balcony, looking for an escape, but Nico casually blocked her path.

"You thought Adrian Cole was your golden goose," Nico said, tossing a thick dossier onto her marble kitchen counter. "Spent eight months poisoning his mind against his wife, nudging him to humiliate her, hoping he'd divorce her and marry you so you could get your hands on the Cole estate."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Vanessa yelled, her voice pitching high in panic. "Adrian gave me those gifts! He bought me this apartment!"

"With stolen funds," the state prosecutor stepped forward, pulling out a warrant. "Funds stolen from the Moretti Children’s Foundation, a registered non-profit. That makes every penny you received federal property, and makes you an accessory to grand larceny, wire fraud, and tax evasion."

"No! It was all Adrian! He told me the money was clean!" Vanessa shrieked, dropping her duffel bag as tears finally burst from her eyes—real tears of terror this time, not the fake ones she had shed at the party.

"Tell it to the judge," Nico said coldly.

The officers stepped forward, pulling her hands behind her back and clicking handcuffs over her wrists.

"Wait!" Vanessa cried out, looking desperately at Nico. "I can help you! I have recordings of Adrian! I have texts showing he planned to push Elena out! I can testify against him!"

Nico chuckled, reaching out to gently adjust the collar of her silver dress—the same dress that had started it all.

"We don't need your testimony, Vanessa," Nico whispered smoothly. "We already have everything. You're just collateral damage."

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Related Stories

Chapter 6 - Desperate BeggarsBy Wednesday afternoon, forty-eight hours after my birthday party, the Cole family had lost everything.
Chapter 7 - The Trial of Adrian ColeThree months later.
Chapter 8 - Reclaiming the LightSix months after the trial.
Chapter 9 - Shadows of the PastThat evening, my brothers and I gathered at our family's ancestral home in the hills for dinner. It was a traditions we had neglected during my two years of marriage to Adrian, but now, it felt like coming home.
Chapter 10 - A New DawnOne year later.

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