Chapter 17 - Handcuffs and Silk
The lobby of Celeste Arden’s luxury apartment building was usually a bastion of quiet, elite discretion. Today, it was the stage for a spectacular, highly publicized downfall.
Celeste was escorted out of the private elevator by two stern-faced FBI agents. Her designer white suit was rumpled, her perfect hair in disarray, and her wrists were bound tightly in heavy steel handcuffs.
A swarm of paparazzi, tipped off by Felix’s ruthless PR team, had gathered outside the glass doors, their cameras flashing violently as they captured the dramatic arrest of Manhattan’s most glamorous corporate darling.
"Ms. Arden, is it true you hired a hitman to kill a six-year-old child?!" a reporter screamed over the chaos, shoving a microphone toward her face.
Celeste kept her head down, refusing to speak, tears of humiliation and sheer terror streaming down her face. She had spent her entire life stepping on the backs of others to reach the top of the corporate ladder, stealing recipes, manipulating billionaires, and destroying lives without a second thought.
Now, she was being shoved into the back of an unmarked federal vehicle, destined for a concrete cell where her beauty and her stolen wealth would mean absolutely nothing.
Back at the Kingsley Hospitality Group headquarters, Odette Kingsley was experiencing her own spectacular demise.
She marched into the glass conference room, intending to rally the board of directors to vote against Felix’s hostile takeover. But when she opened the heavy oak doors, she found the room completely empty, save for Felix’s lead attorney, Vance.
"Where is the board?" Odette demanded, her voice shrill with panic.
"They resigned, Ms. Kingsley," Vance stated calmly, packing his briefcase. "When Mr. Kingsley presented the incontrovertible proof that you had aided and abetted Celeste Arden’s intellectual property theft, and actively covered up the attempted murder of his daughter, the board unanimously decided to sever all ties with you to avoid federal prosecution."
Odette staggered backward, gripping the edge of the mahogany table for support.
"You are officially locked out of the building," Vance continued, handing her a single cardboard box containing her personal desk items. "Security will escort you to the lobby. The empire belongs to Felix now."
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Odette stared at the empty room, realizing with crushing finality that in her ruthless pursuit of absolute power, she had managed to lose absolutely everything.
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