Chapter 4 - The Network Crumbles
"You can't do this!" Wendy shrieked, her composure breaking into full-blown panic. "I am your wife! Half of everything in this house belongs to me!"
"Not anymore," Marcus replied smoothly, placing a stack of legal notices on the counter. "An emergency freeze order has been placed on all joint bank accounts, real estate deeds, and liquid assets under the State Financial Exploitation Protection Act. Furthermore, a warrant has been issued for your mother, Evelyn Vance, for her role as a fraudulent notary on the Sterling Heritage LLC transfers."
At the mention of her mother’s name, Wendy grabbed her phone and tried to dial.
Detective Vance stood up. "Mrs. Vance, drop the phone. You are currently under arrest for third-degree felony assault, unlawful imprisonment, and grand larceny."
"Luca! Tell him to stop!" Wendy screamed as Detective Vance stepped forward, pulling her arms behind her back and clicking steel handcuffs around her wrists. "I did this for us! She was a burden! She was taking up your time and your money!"
I walked up to her, looking directly into her eyes. There was no hatred in my gaze—only the absolute, unyielding coldness of a man who had completely cut a tumor out of his life.
"You didn't do this for us, Wendy," I said. "You did it because you thought my mother was weak, and you thought I was blind. You were wrong about both."
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As Detective Vance led a crying, screaming Wendy out the front door in handcuffs, neighbors began stepping out onto their porches, taking out their phones to record the scene.
Wendy Sterling, who had spent years curating an image of wealthy suburban perfection on social media, was dragged down her own driveway in a silk robe and handcuffs, shoved into the back of a marked police cruiser.
