Chapter 4 - The House of Cards Collapses
Back at the family estate, the pastel balloons of the baby shower were already deflated, hanging limply in the autumn wind like forgotten ghosts.
Valyria paced the hardwood kitchen floor, her manicured fingers clawing at her phone as call after call went straight to voicemail. Her lawyers weren't answering. Her offshore accounts, tied to the same servers Camila had breached with the dummy hard wallet, were showing frozen balances across the board.
The heavy front door swung open with a loud bang.
Federal marshals didn't knock. They moved through the immaculate foyer with quiet, lethal efficiency.
"Valyria Vance?" an agent asked, holding out a warrant.
"You can't do this! Do you know who my husband is? We are pillars of this community!" Valyria shrieked, her carefully constructed mask of elegance finally cracking into a mask of pure, unadulterated panic.
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"Your husband is currently being discharged from police custody into our holding facility for questioning regarding structural extortion and assault," the agent replied coldly. "Put your hands behind your back."
As the silver cuffs clicked around her wrists, Valyria looked out the window toward the empty driveway. There was no one coming to save them. The empire built on manipulation, debt-trapping, and the exploitation of their own daughter had vanished into smoke in less than six hours.
