Elena: Get your filthy hands off me! Do you have any idea how much this gown costs?!
Detective Vance: Put your hands behind your back, ma'am. Right now.
Two officers grabbed Elena's arms, pinning them behind the delicate lace buttons of her bridal gown.
The metallic click of the steel handcuffs echoed loudly across the hardwood floor.
Elena: Ah! You're tearing the silk! Julian, do something! You promised to protect me!
Julian: I am not protecting a monster who poisoned my own father, Elena!
Elena: You knew about the broth, Julian! You bought the digitalis drops from that private clinic in Mexico!
Julian's eyes widened in sheer, naked terror as he looked at Detective Vance.
Julian: She's lying! She is trying to drag me down with her to cut a plea deal!
Elena: I have the encrypted wire transfers on my phone, Julian! I saved every single text message from the day we planned his funeral!
Detective Vance pulled a second pair of handcuffs from his belt, turning toward the groom.
Detective Vance: Julian Sterling, you are under arrest for murder conspiracy, corporate grand larceny, and perjury.
Julian: You cannot arrest me on the word of a convicted felon! I am the CEO of Sterling Logistics!
Detective Vance: Turn around, Mr. Sterling. Don't make us take you down to the floor.
Julian backed against a rack of white silk evening gowns, his chest heaving inside his tuxedo jacket.
Julian: Clara... please. Look at me. We were engaged for three years before the crash!
Clara: You were engaged to my trust fund, Julian. You never cared about me, and you certainly never cared about my daughter.
Julian: I made a terrible mistake! I let Elena manipulate my ambitions! We can raise Lily together in the mansion!
Clara: Lily will grow up in that mansion, Julian. But you will be watching her graduate from behind the bars of a state penitentiary.
The officers stepped forward, twisting Julian's arms behind his tailored black jacket and snapping the steel cuffs shut.
Julian: Ow! Be careful with my wrists! I have a corporate board meeting!
Officer Davis: You have the right to remain silent, sir. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
The officers turned both suspects around, marching them toward the shattered glass entrance of the boutique.
Outside on the sunny sidewalk, a swarm of local news reporters and cameramen had already gathered behind the police tape.
Flashbulbs exploded continuously, blinding Julian and Elena as they were led down the stone steps.
Reporter A: Mr. Sterling! Is it true you conspired to murder Arthur Vance for an eighty-million-dollar trust fund?!
Reporter B: Miss Vance! Did you hide Clara Vance inside an ornate wardrobe on your wedding day?!
Elena screamed, thrashing wildly as she tried to hide her face behind her ruined veil.
Officer Davis pushed Julian's head down firmly, guiding him into the back seat of the lead squad car.
The heavy metal door slammed shut with a sharp, resounding thud, cutting off his angry shouts instantly.
Elena was shoved into the second cruiser, her white dress catching in the door frame as the sirens began to wail.
Clara stood inside the quiet showroom, watching through the broken glass as the police convoy sped away toward downtown.
She looked down at her daughter, who was clinging tightly to her waist, smiling up with wide, hopeful brown eyes.
Lily: Mommy... are we going home now? The real home with the garden?
Clara: Yes, my sweet angel. We are going home, and nobody will ever lock our doors again.