Chapter 10 - The Cracking Foundation of a Fraudulent Marriage
The mention of the police warrant shattered whatever remaining sanity Andrew Foster possessed.
“A warrant?” Brenda shrieked, dropping her glass of champagne, the crystal shattering across the polished parquet floor. “On what grounds? This is harassment! Robert, do something! You’re our lawyer!”
Robert Salas took one look at Zachary Howard’s icy expression, then looked at Arthur Vance, who had just stepped up behind us with two uniformed detectives from the San Antonio Economic Crimes Unit.
Robert immediately stepped two paces away from Andrew and Brenda, raising his hands in surrender. “I am no longer representing Mr. Foster. As of five minutes ago, my firm has formally severed all ties with Foster Creative Media to protect our corporate standing.”
“Robert! You coward!” Andrew yelled, his face turning an ugly shade of magenta. “You told me to push the patent filing! You helped me draft the corporate transfer documents!”
“Shut your mouth, Andrew!” Robert barked back, his professional veneer completely cracking. “You lied about the ownership rights! You dragged my daughter Gemma into a criminal conspiracy!”
Gemma burst into tears right in the middle of the ballroom, clutching her father’s arm. “Daddy! Fix this! I can’t go to jail! I was supposed to be a high-society wife!”
“A high-society wife?” I said, stepping forward, looking down at Gemma with calm disdain. “You were a thief who tried to steal another woman’s life because you were too lazy and envious to build one of your own. How does it feel, Gemma? You traded your dignity, your law license, and your best friend for a man who is about to be led out of here in handcuffs.”
The two detectives stepped forward.
“Andrew Foster?” Detective Miller asked, pulling out a pair of steel handcuffs. “You are under arrest for grand larceny, identity fraud, and corporate espionage. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
Before the eyes of the entire San Antonio elite—hundreds of CEOs, investors, and socialites who had their phones recording every second—Andrew’s arms were pulled behind his back, and the cold metal cuffs clicked shut around his wrists.
“Samantha! Please!” Andrew screamed as he was pulled toward the exit, his composure completely destroyed. “Tell them it’s a misunderstanding! I made a mistake! I love you! I only married Gemma because I was confused! Please, Sam, don’t let them take me!”
Brenda was screaming hysterically, chasing after the officers: “Let go of my son! You can’t do this to the Fosters! We are respectable people!”
“Take her too if she obstructs justice, Detective,” Arthur Vance added calmly. Brenda immediately clamped her mouth shut, tripping over her long emerald skirt as she scrambled out the door in total humiliation.
The heavy oak doors closed behind them, taking the noise and the chaos away.
The ballroom remained silent for three seconds before the CEO of Methodist Healthcare raised his champagne glass and smiled warmly across the room.
“To Dr. Samantha Miller,” he called out. “A true hero of San Antonio medicine!”
The entire room erupted into thunderous applause.
Zachary turned to me, his dark eyes sparkling with genuine pride and affection. He raised his crystal flute to touch mine with a gentle, melodic clink.
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“To justice,” Zachary murmured, his voice husky and intimate. “And to the woman who conquered the storm.”
I took a sip of the vintage champagne, feeling the warmth spread through my chest. The betrayal that had threatened to crush me thirty-six hours ago had been completely burned away, leaving behind only strength, clarity, and a brand-new horizon.
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