Chapter 9 - The Final Fall
Predicting the threat, I reacted instantaneously. Having taken self-defense classes during my years working late-night hotel security shifts, I dropped my purse, ducked low, and pivoted to the left.
The corrosive liquid splashed harmlessly against the concrete wall behind me, sizzling loudly as it melted the paint on the wall.
Victoria stumbled forward, off-balance from her wild swing. Before she could regain her footing, two heavy security guards from the Foster Global building rushed through the garage doors, alerted by the emergency signal from my phone. They grabbed Victoria by her arms, forcing her to the ground and disarming her instantly.
"Get off me! Do you know who I am?!" Victoria shrieked, struggling violently against the guards. "I am Victoria Caldwell! I will destroy all of you!"
Ethan and Arthur Vance burst into the garage moments later, having been in the lobby upstairs. Seeing the sizzled concrete wall and Victoria pinned to the floor, Ethan ran straight to me, wrapping his arms tightly around my shaking frame.
"Evelyn! Are you hurt?!" Ethan asked frantically, checking my face and hands.
"I'm okay," I whispered, resting my head against his chest as the adrenaline began to fade. "She missed."
Arthur Vance stepped forward, looking down at Victoria with a terrifying expression of cold professional anger. He pulled out his phone and dialed the Chief of Police directly.
"Chief Miller," Vance said calmly into the phone. "We have an attempted assault with a dangerous weapon at the Foster Global building. Victoria Caldwell attempted to throw corrosive acid at Evelyn Foster. We have full high-definition security camera coverage of the entire incident."
Victoria’s frantic screams suddenly died out. She looked up at the security cameras mounted on the ceiling, the harsh realization hitting her like a tidal wave. This wasn't a social squabble. This was a major felony.
Within twenty minutes, police cars arrived with sirens blaring. Victoria Caldwell was handcuffed, read her rights, and dragged away in front of news reporters who had been tipped off by garage staff.
The following morning, Victoria Caldwell’s mugshot was printed on the front page of every major newspaper in California. Charged with attempted aggravated assault, stalking, and felony harassment, her bail was set at five million dollars—an amount the bankrupt Caldwell family could not possibly post.
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Richard Caldwell filed for personal bankruptcy two days later and formally initiated divorce proceedings against Victoria to protect what tiny fraction of personal assets he had left. Chloe, unable to afford her luxury lifestyle, was forced to move into a tiny studio apartment on the outskirts of the city, taking a entry-level job at a retail store where she was forced to serve the very people she used to look down upon.
The Caldwell reign was officially over.
