Chapter 8 - The Public Reckoning
Victoria turned toward the door, her composure entirely gone, but two federal marshals stepped into her path, pulling out heavy steel handcuffs.
"Victoria Sterling," Agent Miller announced loudly. "You are under arrest for federal wire fraud, embezzlement, child endangerment, attempted murder by poisoning, and unlawful imprisonment."
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" Victoria shrieked, flailing wildly as the cuffs were snapped behind her back. "DANIEL! TELL THEM TO STOP! THIS IS MY HOUSE! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"
"It was never your house, Victoria," I said coldly, walking up to her as she struggled against the marshals' grip. "You were just a guest who stayed too long."
As the officers dragged her down the front steps, the dark Malibu night exploded with camera flashes. Mark had leaked her arrest location to every major news outlet in Los Angeles.
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Dozens of reporters, photojournalists, and news vans lined the driveway. The image of Victoria Sterling—the pristine, high-society philanthropist—being led away in handcuffs, her hair matted, her dress torn, and her face contorted in frantic rage, became the front-page story across the country by morning.
The charities she chaired immediately scrubbed her name from their boards. Her socialite friends issued statements condemning her. Her empire of lies had dissolved into public disgrace.
