Chapter 18 - The Arrest
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The arrests happened with brutal, humiliating efficiency.
As Evan was dragged down the center aisle in handcuffs, fighting and spitting at the officers, the minister, the videographer, and the hundreds of guests watched in stunned silence. Evan’s public assault on me was immediately added to his growing list of felony charges; there was no defense lawyer in the world who could explain away a violent strike witnessed by a packed cathedral.
Lucinda Mercer didn't fight. She stood frozen in the aisle, her expensive facade crumbling as a female detective read her Miranda rights and cuffed her hands over her designer gown. As she was marched past me, she shot me a look of pure, unadulterated venom.
“You’ve ruined us,” she hissed.
“You ruined yourselves,” I replied, turning my back on her.
Police technicians were already sweeping the cathedral office, recovering the extortionate postnuptial agreement and seizing Evan’s laptop, which held the digital keys to the Larkspur shell companies.
The ceremony ended without a marriage license ever being signed.
I walked back down the long aisle entirely alone. There was no applause, no triumphant music. Just a heavy, honest silence.
May you like
Outside the heavy oak doors, the crisp city air hit my face. My knees finally buckled, the adrenaline draining from my body in a terrifying rush. I collapsed onto the stone steps, ruining the silk of my dress. Alvarez sat quietly beside me, placing a warm jacket over my shoulders until the ambulance arrived to treat my lip.
Revenge had not made the slap painless. It hadn't brought my father back, and it hadn't erased the betrayal. It had simply prevented Evan’s violence from becoming my permanent future.
