Detective Vance: Chloe Vance and Marcus Vance, you are both under arrest for grand corporate fraud, wire laundering, and felony assault.
Chloe: Don't touch me! Get your hands off my dress!
Detective Vance: Officers, secure both suspects.
The two uniformed officers stepped forward, pulling Chloe's wet arms behind her maroon dress. The metallic click of steel handcuffs echoed clearly through the silent foyer.
Chloe: David! Tell them to stop! Please! I was just angry about the trust fund!
David: You tried to hurt my unborn child, Chloe. You are going to spend the next ten years in a state prison.
Marcus: David! Think about our twenty-year business partnership!
David: You ruined that partnership the second you let your daughter put her shoe on my wife's dress.
The officers turned Chloe and her father around, guiding them across the polished marble floor toward the grand entrance doors.
High-society guests pulled out their smartphones, recording video clips and flash photos as the former socialite and her father were led away in handcuffs.
Chloe: Stop filming me! Turn those cameras off!
Guest A: Look at the gold digger in handcuffs!
Guest B: She tried to hurt a pregnant woman for an estate share! What a monster!
The heavy glass front doors pushed open, and the cold night air rushed into the foyer. Red and blue police lights flashed across the long driveway, illuminating the two squad cars parked near the marble fountain.
News camera crews who had been waiting outside for the gala swarmed the driveway, flashbulbs exploding continuously as Chloe was pushed into the back seat of the lead cruiser.
Reporter A: Miss Vance! Is it true you assaulted David Sterling's pregnant wife?
Reporter B: Did your father steal two million dollars from the Sterling trust fund?
Chloe pulled her handcuffed hands up, trying desperately to hide her tear-stained, ruined face from the flashing lenses, but the photographers captured every second of her downfall.
The heavy car door slammed shut with a sharp metallic thud, cutting off her hysterical screaming instantly.
Inside the warm foyer, David led me to a plush velvet couch near the fireplace, gently lowering me onto the soft cushions.
David: Paramedic team is right outside, Cora. Let's get you and the baby checked over immediately.
Cora: I'm feeling better, David. The sharp pain is passing.
David: You were so brave tonight, sweetie.
Cora: I wasn't brave, David. I was terrified for our child.
David knelt in front of the couch, kissing my hands with deep tenderness while fresh tears welled in his eyes.
David: The dark storm is over, Cora. Nobody will ever threaten our family again.