Chapter 393
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Chapter 393:
The detective’s eyes locked immediately onto the diamond necklace resting on the carpet. He pulled on a pair of latex gloves, picked it up carefully, and dropped it into a clear plastic evidence bag.
Two female officers stepped forward. They seized Victoria by the arms and hauled her roughly to her feet, twisting her arms behind her back. The cold, heavy steel of the handcuffs snapped shut around her wrists, right over her expensive French manicure. The metallic click echoed sharply through the room.
Victoria completely lost control.
“No!” she shrieked, thrashing wildly against the officers’ grip. “I didn’t steal it! I am a Stein! You cannot do this to me! Let me go p>
The detective ignored her screaming. He stepped directly in front of her and began reciting the Miranda rights in a flat, mechanical voice.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law p>
Elouise Stein stood at the top of the attic stairs, watching her niece being dragged away in handcuffs. Her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the wooden steps, too terrified to make a single sound.
The officers hauled Victoria out through the front door.
A swarm of paparazzi had already arrived, tipped off by the Page Six article. Camera flashes exploded like strobe lights. Victoria tried to bow her head and let her hair fall over her face, but the cameras caught every humiliating angle — the tear-streaked cheeks, the steel cuffs biting into her wrists.
They shoved her into the back of a squad car. The door slammed shut, and the cruiser sped away toward the downtown detention center.
Miles away, in the Collins penthouse.
𝖯op𝘂𝗅а𝗋 s𝗍𝗼𝗋і𝗲𝘀 o𝘯
Jocelyn sat on the plush living room sofa. The massive flat-screen TV was tuned to a local news channel showing live helicopter footage of Victoria being pushed into the police car. The breaking news banner read: UPPER EAST SIDE SOCIALITE ARRESTED FOR $30M GRAND LARCENY.
Jocelyn stared at the screen. She felt no pity — only a deep, settling peace. The toxic roots of her past were finally being pulled from the earth.
Gaston walked into the living room carrying two crystal glasses of warm mulled wine. He handed one to Jocelyn, then sat down beside her and pulled her flush against his side.
Jocelyn rested her head on his chest. “Her life is completely over p>
Gaston’s fingers stroked her hair gently. His voice was terrifyingly calm.
“That is the price for touching what belongs to you,” Gaston murmured. “Rikers Island will teach her the manners her father failed to instill p>
Jocelyn tilted her head up and looked into his dark, obsessive eyes.
She leaned up and pressed a soft, deeply grateful kiss to his lips.
Gaston’s eyes darkened instantly. He took the wine glass from her hand, set it on the table, and pulled her fully into his lap, deepening the kiss until the cold reality of the news broadcast faded away entirely.
Meanwhile, in a dark apartment in Chelsea.