Mason lunged to scoop them up, but Agent Reynolds’ hand clamped down hard on his shoulder, pinning him to the table.
“Let’s talk about Apex Global Solutions,” Reynolds said casually, pulling a tablet from his briefcase. “A consulting firm registered in the Cayman Islands with zero employees, zero online footprint, and a direct routing path to an account ending in 4092. An account under your sole control, Mr. Vance.”
The guests gasped. Several murmurs erupted near the back. Business partners from rival firms stared in disbelief.
“It’s a clerical error!” Mason shouted, his voice cracking, revealing the desperate coward beneath the tailored Armani suit. He looked at me with wild, pleading eyes, dropping the tough-guy facade completely. “Claire! Baby, please. Tell them! You know how hard I worked! You know I love you!”
I reached up, carefully peeling a piece of sticky buttercream off my cheek and letting it drop onto the floor.
“You told me passion was gripping my wrist until it bruised, Mason,” I whispered so only he could hear. “You told me your temper was just stress. But stealing eighteen hundred thousand dollars from the company my mother helped build? That’s not passion. That’s just embezzlement.”
“It was supposed to be our future!” he hissed back, forgetting the microphone clipped to his lapel that broadcasted every desperate syllable across the room’s sound system.
The entire ballroom went dead silent again. The confession hung in the air, thick and undeniable.
Diane let out a choked gasp and staggered backward, catching herself against the wedding tier. Her precious, golden-boy son had just admitted guilt on live microphone in front of the most powerful corporate leaders in the city.
“Take him away,” my father commanded, his voice steady and absolute.
As the officers snapped cold steel cuffs around Mason’s wrists, he twisted his head back, his eyes burning with pure, unadulterated venom.
“You think you’ve won, you ungrateful bitch?” he screamed as they dragged him toward the doors. “Without me, your company is nothing! You’ll be ruined!”
The heavy doors slammed shut behind him, cutting off his screams.
