It hurt so much that black spots appeared on the edges of the field of view, but I still laughed.
Julian’s jaw twitched.
“What’s so funny to you?”
“You practiced that speech,” I said. “But you forgot about the cameras.”
Part 3: It’s the 14th
Julian froze.
His arrogant smile wavered as his gaze wandered towards the upper corners of the high vault.
“The monitoring system was shut down for the duration of the party,” Beatrice said calmly, although tension could be heard in her elegant voice.
She corrected the pearls and looked at me with contempt.
“Stop trying to intimidate us, Clara. You don’t have anything.
“The cameras at home did not really work,” I exclaimed, floating to a sitting position despite the sharp, pulsating pain radiating through the back and hips.
I protected my stomach and felt a strong, quick kick of the baby.
Hold on, baby.
Just a few more seconds.
I looked straight at Chloe, whose hand was still resting on her flat stomach.
“I’m not talking about cameras in the house, Jules. I’m talking about the diamond brooch your father gave to your mother for her 30th wedding anniversary. The same one she insisted on for me to wear today so that everyone could see how “generous” the Vance family is.
Beatrice’s hand immediately went to the collarbone, where an intricately made platinum-diamond brooch shone on the silk dress.
“A hidden high-resolution camera,” I whispered, and my bloody smile became wider. “With a live satellite broadcast directly to the Department of Justice’s Department of Financial Crimes.” They saw every second. They heard your father call me trash. They heard Julian admit to pushing the woman away in her eighth month of pregnancy. And most importantly, they heard you admit to using foreign tax havens three minutes before cutting the cake.
All the blood flowed from Arthur’s face.
“What did you say?”
Come on, go.
The bell at the door didn’t sound like the visitor’s announcement.
He was immediately drowned out by the mighty bang of a ram smashing the great double mahogany front door.
The FBI! Nobody’s moving! Stay in the seats!
There were screams in the room.
Fifty guests from the upper realms began to retreat in panic, spilling old champagne and knocking over floral compositions.
A squad of armed federal agents in full tactical equipment stormed inside.
They were holding their rifles.
They were followed by civil investigators carrying entire piles of federal search warrants.
The team was headed by senior special agent Marcus Thorne with a thick leather binder in his hand.
Julian reflexively retreated.
He was as pale as chalk.
He squeezed Chloe’s arm so hard that she was writing in pain.
“Dad… what is it?” Tell them who we are!
Arthur moved forward, taking the customary, imperious attitude from the boardroom.
“Officer, my name is Arthur Vance. It’s a private property, and the gentlemen are intruding on…
“Sippy, Mr. Vance,” Agent Thorne interrupted him, without even looking at him.
He nodded at the tactical team.
— [Secure the area.] No one’s leaving. Immediately take over all phones, laptops and hard drives.
Agent Thorne walked right past the billionaire and bewildered guys, then kneeled by me.
His raw face immediately softened as he summoned waiting paramedics in the lobby.
“Claro,” he said softly, holding my back. “We received a sound transmission.” You all right?
“The child,” I said, as tears finally flowed down my cheeks out of pure pain. “He pushed me away.” I have to go to the hospital.
Thorne raised his head sharply and looked at Julian with an icy, lethal intensity.
Rescuers! Immediately stretcher! The highest priority!
Part 4: The Fall of the Empire
When the medical team moved on with the stretcher, complete chaos broke out in the room.
Beatrice was screaming as the agent took her phone and unbuttoned her diamond brooch, securing her in a transparent evidence bag.
“You can’t touch me!” Do you have any idea who my lawyers are?
“Your lawyers are just getting simultaneous search warrants for their Manhattan offices, Mrs. Vance,” Agent Thorne replied, getting up and pulling out a thick file of arrest warrants from his coat pocket.
He turned to Arthur.
“Arthur Vance, you are arrested on suspicion of participating in organised criminal activity, telecommunications fraud, large-scale theft, and a conspiracy to tax evasion totaling four hundred and fifty million dollars.
Arthur’s jaw trembled.
