The Law Arrives
The courtyard fell silent as a black police cruiser rolled up the driveway, its lights flashing like a warning.
Two uniformed officers stepped out, their steps measured, faces set.
“Roland Ashby?” one asked, voice flat.
I swallowed, my throat raw. “Yes.”
“You are under arrest for multiple counts of financial fraud, child endangerment, and violation of a restraining order,” the other declared, sliding a thick file across the marble.
My eyes flicked to the twins, their small hands still clutched to my sleeves, their gazes now filled with a terror I had never imagined they could feel.
Evelyn’s face turned to stone as she watched, her anger melting into a cold, satisfied calm.
“You built your empire on stolen investor money, Roland,” the first officer said, tapping the documents. “The SEC has been tracing your transactions for years.”
My mind raced back to the night I’d thrown Naomi out, the desperation that drove me to siphon funds, the lies that kept the façade intact.
“This is… this is a mistake,” I stammered, feeling the weight of every decision collapse on me.
“There’s no mistake,” the second officer replied, hand on his holster. “You’ll answer for each victim you left in the wake of your greed.”
Naomi stepped forward, voice trembling but fierce. “You thought you could erase us, Roland. You were wrong.”
The twins began to sob, their cries cutting through the crisp air, each sob a tiny rebuke to the man who had abandoned them.
As the officers cuffed me, the marquee lights dimmed, the guests whispering, the wedding now a crime scene.
I felt the cold metal bite my wrist, the reality sinking like a stone.
In the distance, Evelyn turned away, her silhouette framed by the estate’s grand arches, a silent promise that the story would not end here.
See more on the next page
