Chapter 10 - The Tables Turn
The color vanished completely from Marcus Thorne’s face. He snatched the paper from the marshal's hand, his eyes scanning the legal seals and watermarks. His breath hitched. It was ironclad. Claire Moretti wasn't just a stay-at-home mother; she was legally the majority stakeholder of the emergency trust, holding ultimate veto power over any asset freeze initiated outside the primary board.
"This... this is impossible!" Marcus stammered, looking frantically around for a way out as the news camera crew zoomed in tighter on his sweating, panicked expression.
"Federal Marshal," Adrian said smoothly, stepping forward with lethal precision, his voice ringing with absolute authority. "I am filing a formal counter-suit right now for corporate harassment, defamation, and forgery. Furthermore, my legal team has a warrant for Ms. Vanessa Cole’s arrest for conspiring in wire fraud and identity theft, executed thirty minutes ago at her temporary hideout."
As if on cue, a second black SUV screamed down Maple Street, tires screeching to a halt right behind the news van. Two local detectives stepped out, walking straight toward Marcus and placing a heavy set of cold steel handcuffs directly onto his wrists.
"Marcus Thorne, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit corporate fraud and falsification of federal documents," the lead detective announced loudly for the camera microphones to catch every single word.
Marcus thrashed against the grip of the officers, screaming obscenely as he was shoved into the back of the police cruiser. The live news broadcast was already beaming the spectacular downfall across every major news network and social media platform in Chicago. The internet was going wild. Within minutes, the hashtag #MorettiJustice was trending number one across Facebook and Twitter, with millions of viewers praising the ultimate takedown of a corrupt corporate rival and the unbreakable unity of the Moretti family.
Adrian turned slowly, looking down at Claire with a gaze full of unadulterated awe and deep, soul-shaking gratitude.
"You... you set a trap for them," Adrian whispered, a disbelieving smile breaking across his face.
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Claire crossed her arms, a playful, victorious glint dancing in her dark eyes. "You didn't think I spent a year running a household alone without learning how to protect it, did you? You fight in boardrooms, Adrian. I fight for my home."
Adrian laughed—a deep, resonant sound of pure liberation—and pulled Claire into his arms, lifting her slightly off her feet right there on the sunny porch as the neighborhood began to applaud.
