Chapter 6 - The Arrest of the Elite
The courtyard erupted into chaos. High-society guests scrambled for their vehicles, desperate to distance themselves from a collapsing dynasty before their own associations with the Sterling Corporation came under federal scrutiny.
"This is an outrage!" Eleanor shrieked as the two Newport police officers stepped up on either side of her, clicking heavy steel handcuffs around her wrists. "You can't do this to me! My father owns this city! You're destroying a pillar of society!"
"Your family built an empire on blood and deceit, Eleanor," Leo spoke up for the first time, his young voice ringing with absolute clarity across the courtyard. "And the pillars are finally falling."
Eleanor glared at her nephew with venomous hatred, her face twisting into a snarl. "You ungrateful little monster! We should have let you burn in that room!"
The confession was casual, public, and loud enough for Detective Vance and half a dozen journalists who had just arrived at the gates to hear every single word.
Detective Vance’s jaw tightened. He signaled the officers. "Capture that statement on body-cam. Ms. Sterling, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering, and child endangerment. You have the right to remain silent—though I advise against it."
As Eleanor was dragged screaming toward the back of a police cruiser, her designer silk gown dragging through the ash, Clara knelt down beside Leo’s chair.
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"It's over," Clara whispered softly, brushing a smudge of soot from his cheek.
Leo let out a long, shuddering breath, a small, genuine smile finally breaking through his exhaustion. "No, Clara. For the first time in my life... it's just beginning."
