Chapter 4 - Exposing the Fraud
The following Monday morning, the news of Flynn Vance’s arrest finally broke across national financial media.
VANCE GLOBAL CEO ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER OF PREGNANT WIFE, the headlines screamed across Bloomberg, CNBC, and the Wall Street Journal. Within three hours of the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange, Vance Global’s stock price plummeted by thirty-four percent.
Inside his corner office on the 50th floor of the Vance Global Tower, Flynn was unraveling.
He sat behind his massive mahogany desk, his tie loosened, dark circles hollowed beneath his bloodshot eyes. Standing across from him were his lead criminal defense attorney, Arthur Vance, and Selina Cole, who was clutching a designer handbag and weeping dramatically.
"Flynn, baby, you have to talk to the reporters!" Selina cried, reaching out to pat his arm. "They're calling me a homewrecker! They're saying I tricked you! You know I would never lie to you!"
Flynn stared at her, his mind racing back to the hospital room, to the image of his unborn twins' ultrasound, and to Mabel’s ice-cold eyes. The overwhelming guilt was consuming him alive, but beneath the guilt, a dark, terrible suspicion had begun to take root.
"Arthur," Flynn barked, ignoring Selina entirely. "Did you review the police evidence discovery file?"
Arthur Vance sighed, setting a heavy leather briefcase on the desk. "Flynn... we have a massive problem. The state prosecutor just filed upgraded charges this morning."
"Upgraded?" Flynn stood up, his palms slamming onto the desk. "Upgraded to what?"
"Attempted first-degree murder, aggravated domestic battery, and two counts of intentional homicide of an unborn child," Arthur said gravely. "The district attorney is treating this as a high-profile capital case. They aren't offering a plea deal."
Selina gasped, pulling out a tissue. "Oh my god! Mabel is doing this to ruin us! She’s doing it out of jealousy!"
"Shut up, Selina," Flynn snapped, his voice dangerously low.
Selina blinked in shock. "What?"
"Arthur," Flynn continued, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "What evidence do they have besides Mabel's testimony?"
"They have the forensic analysis of the knife," Arthur replied, pulling out a stack of high-resolution crime scene photographs. "And they have the perimeter security video from your Gold Coast neighborhood."
Arthur slid three printed video stills across the mahogany desk.
Flynn looked down at the first image. It was a crystal-clear, high-definition capture from a neighbor's security camera taken at 1:12 PM on the day of the stabbing.
It showed Selina's black Mercedes parked near an alleyway. Through the windshield, Selina was clearly visible holding a small, silver razor blade. The second image showed her deliberately slicing a fine line into her own left forearm. The third image showed her taking a small tube of fake stage blood, dabbing it on her arm, and smiling into her rearview mirror before stepping out of the vehicle.
Flynn’s heart stopped. The world around him seemed to tilt on its axis.
He slowly turned his head to look at Selina.
"Flynn... Flynn, wait, that's fake!" Selina stammered, her face turning pale as paper as she backed away toward the door. "Mabel altered the video! She used AI! She paid off the police!"
"You scratched yourself," Flynn whispered, his voice trembling with a mixture of horror and realization. "You staged the whole thing. You walked into my house, lied to my face, and made me think my wife had attacked you."
"Flynn, please! I did it because I love you!" Selina sobbed, dropping all pretense. "She was holding you back! She didn't appreciate you! I wanted us to be together!"
"You made me stab my wife!" Flynn roared, throwing his heavy crystal whiskey decanter against the wall, shattering it into a thousand pieces. "You made me kill my own children!"
"I didn't tell you to pick up the knife!" Selina screamed back, her tone suddenly turning cold and venomous as her victim mask slipped entirely away. "You did that all on your own, Flynn! You were so eager to play the knight in shining armor that you didn't even check to see if I was actually hurt! Don't put your psycho violence on me!"
"Get out," Flynn gasped, clutching his chest as pain flared behind his ribs. "Get out of my office before I kill you."
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Selina didn't wait. She grabbed her bag, sneered at him, and stormed out of the office, her high heels clicking loudly against the marble floor.
Flynn collapsed back into his leather chair, burying his face in his trembling hands. The crushing weight of truth had finally shattered his delusions. He had sacrificed the only woman who had ever truly loved him, murdered his own flesh and blood, and ruined his life—all for a sociopathic lie.
