Chapter 7 - The Scapegoat’s Betrayal
The metallic click of the handcuffs locking around Adrian’s wrists shattered the remaining illusion of his corporate empire.
"Wait! There’s a mistake!" Adrian screamed, thrashing backward as the marshals grabbed his arms and forced him down toward the table. "Malcolm! Do something! Call your lawyers! This is illegal!"
Malcolm Vale didn't even look at him. The chairman of Vale Capital sat motionless, his face buried in his hands as he realized the three point two billion dollars his firm had injected into Cole Industries had just vanished straight into Hart Global’s primary escrow abyss, completely unrecoverable.
Vanessa lunged forward, her face twisted into a mask of pure, venomous rage as she pointed directly at Adrian. "You pathetic idiot! You said she was broke! You said she had nothing!"
"Vanessa, help me! Tell them—" Adrian pleaded, his eyes wide with desperate betrayal as the marshals hauled him toward the exit.
"Get away from me, you loser!" Vanessa shrieked, shoving him so hard he stumbled against the doorframe. "You ruined my family's investment! You ruined me!"
I watched the spectacle unfold with cold, detached indifference. This was the magnificent dynasty they had built on cruelty, arrogance, and deceit—collapsing into a pathetic, screaming mess the moment the money ran out.
As the marshals dragged Adrian out into the hallway, his desperate cries echoing against the glass walls, I turned my attention back to Malcolm Vale.
The aging billionaire slowly raised his head, looking at me with a mixture of profound defeat and chilling professional respect. "You planned this down to the very last detail. You let us sink billions into a dying ship just so you could pull the plug from the inside."
"I didn't sink your ship, Mr. Vale," I replied calmly, resting my hands on the back of an empty chair. "Your daughter and your prospective son-in-law did that all by themselves when they decided to assault a woman in her own study and assume there would be no consequences."
Malcolm’s eyes flickered with sudden realization. He stiffened, staring at me intently. "The bruises... the domestic incident report your medical team filed this morning... that wasn't just a personal grievance. That was your trigger mechanism."
"Everything is evidence, Mr. Vale," I said softly. "And your family’s bill has finally come due."
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Before Malcolm could answer, Marcus Vance stepped up beside me, handing me a freshly printed legal document. "Mrs. Hart, the residential title transfer for the Cole estate has cleared county records. The primary suburban residence is now fully under your name. And..." Marcus paused, offering a thin, satisfied smile. "The moving trucks are already at the gates. Your former mother-in-law and her belongings are currently being escorted off the premises."
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