First, a document appeared. It was fifty feet wide and impossible to ignore. It
was Vivian’s medical file from the private clinic, the bright red stamp of
“STERILE – PRE-EXISTING SCARRING” illuminated for every billionaire and
socialite to see.

A collective gasp echoed through the room. Vivian let out a strangled cry,
burying her face in her hands.

I pressed the button again. The screen shifted. It was the grainy,
black-and-white CCTV footage from the hotel parking garage. The audio, amplified
by the hall’s state-of-the-art sound system, boomed off the vaulted ceilings.

“You fall against the edge, just like we practiced… The only way you get it is
if she’s sitting in a cell.”

The silence that followed was absolute. It was the heavy, suffocating silence of
total destruction. The guests, people who had shaken Marcus’s hand and drank his
champagne, physically recoiled, stepping back from the stage as if he were
suddenly radioactive.

Vivian broke first. She turned on him, her angelic face contorted in sheer
panic. “He made me do it!” she screamed at Agent Vance, pointing at Marcus. “He
planned the whole thing! He said if I didn’t help him frame her, he would kill
me! I have emails! I can show you!”

“Shut up, you stupid bitch!” Marcus roared, lunging toward her.

Two FBI agents slammed him face-first onto the mahogany podium. The sound of his
nose breaking was a sickening crunch. They wrenched his arms behind his back,
the metallic click of the handcuffs echoing sharply in the quiet hall.

I stood there, watching the man who had stolen two years of my life writhe in
the grip of the law. I felt no pity. I felt no rage. The canyon in my chest had
closed.

Agent Vance walked over to me, holding a thick folder. “We secured the vault
downstairs, Mrs. Vale. Twenty-two forged canvases, just like you said. And the
routing numbers matched the Macao accounts perfectly. He’s going away for a very
long time.”

“Thank you, Agent Vance,” I said softly.

“The board of directors is already drafting emergency paperwork,” Celeste said,
appearing at my side, a rare, genuine smile on her face. “With his fraud exposed