Chapter 4 - The Federal Arrival
Before Daniel could formulate a response, before he could beg or lie or threaten, the deep, rhythmic thrumming of a heavy-duty helicopter engine echoed across the night sky from the south side of the island.
The wind whipped across the terrace as a large twin-engine aircraft bearing federal law enforcement insignia appeared over the treeline, descending smoothly onto the island’s private helipad. The spotlight from the chopper swept across the lawn, bathing the terrace in blinding white light before clicking off.
Serena let out a sharp cry, covering her face with her hands as heavy footsteps echoed up the stone pathway. Within seconds, four federal marshals in dark tactical suits, accompanied by two financial crimes investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's office and my personal corporate attorney, marched onto the terrace.
The lead investigator didn't even look at Serena. He walked straight up to Daniel, pulled a set of steel handcuffs from his belt, and clamped them tightly around my husband's wrists with a sharp, metallic click.
"Daniel Reed," the investigator announced loudly, his voice echoing over the roar of the receding helicopter rotors. "You are under arrest for wire fraud, grand larceny, corporate embezzlement, and the fraudulent conveyance of institutional assets."
"No! There's been a mistake!" Daniel screamed, thrashing against the marshals as they forced him around. He looked back at me with wild, desperate eyes, his face twisted in panic. "Ava! Please! Call them off! We're married! You can't do this to me!"
"We were married, Daniel," I corrected him coldly, watching without a single ounce of pity as the man who had tried to destroy my life was neutralized in seconds. "Now, you're just a criminal trespassing on private property."
Serena backed away until her spine hit the stone railing of the terrace, hyperventilating as she realized she was entirely stranded on a private island with a disgraced, arrested felon and an unyielding billionaire heiress. "I didn't know," she sobbed, looking at me with tear-streaked eyes. "I swear I didn't know he was embezzling! He told me he was a self-made multi-millionaire!"
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"Ignorance isn't an acceptable defense when you're wearing twenty-eight thousand dollars in stolen corporate jewelry," I said, nodding slightly to Marcus. "Escort Ms. Bishop to the guest quarters on the lower dock. She’ll be taking the first commercial ferry back to the mainland tomorrow morning—at her own expense."
As the marshals dragged a weeping, cursing Daniel down the pathway toward the helipad, the heavy silence of the island returned, broken only by the gentle lapping of the waves against the cliffs.
