Chapter 6 - The Federal Sweep and the Asset Freeze
Panic erupted across the ballroom like wildfire. Several high-profile guests bolted for the exits, terrified of being associated with a collapsing criminal enterprise, while others rushed toward the doors to upload live footage to social media. Within minutes, the heavy glass doors of the resort smashed open not with violence, but with the unmistakable authority of uniformed federal marshals and local law enforcement officers. Leading the unit was a senior investigator who walked directly past the stunned wedding party and stopped in front of my father, who was still struggling to untangle himself from the floral display on the floor. ""Stellin Hale and Althia Hale?"" the officer announced loudly, pulling out a pair of gleaming steel handcuffs. ""You are under arrest for corporate wire fraud, identity theft, interstate financial manipulation, and conspiracy to commit embezzlement. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."" Althia let out a blood-curdling screech and collapsed onto the polished marble floor, sobbing hysterically as the cold steel cuffs snapped around her wrists. ""This is a mistake!"" she wailed, kicking her designer shoes off in sheer desperation. ""Call our lawyers! Call our congressman! Fallon, you ungrateful little monster, tell them to let us go!"" I slowly wheeled myself forward, my cast resting comfortably on the padded footrest, looking down at my mother with a calm, chilling serenity. ""The lawyers are already here, Mother,"" I replied softly, my voice cutting through her desperate screams. ""Only they aren't working for you anymore. They're liquidating your assets to pay back every single contractor, employee, and investor you defrauded over the last five years."" Sutton stood frozen in the center of the ruined altar, her expensive veil dragging in spilled champagne, looking utterly defeated as her entire world dissolved into ash around her. She turned pleading eyes toward me, her voice trembling with a pathetic, desperate whine. ""Fallon... please. We're sisters. You can't let them take everything. Help us fix this."" I looked her dead in the eye, remembering the sound of her laughter as I lay at the bottom of those stairs with my leg snapped in half. ""You wanted content, Sutton,"" I said coldly, tapping the screen behind me where security camera footage of her pushing me was now playing on an endless loop. ""Congratulations. You're officially trending.""
