Chapter 401
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Chapter 401:
The next few weeks passed in a blur of legal and financial devastation for the Stein family. With bail denied, Victoria remained locked away at Rikers Island, her trial date set. The public scandal and the freezing of their assets forced Edward to sell the century-old townhouse at a massive loss. Elouise, with nowhere else to go, was relegated to a small rented room in Queens, her social life utterly destroyed. The Stein name had become synonymous with disgrace.
For Jocelyn, it was a period of quiet, ruthless consolidation. She severed the last of her old ties, focusing entirely on the Wolfe Hotel’s expansion and the new life she was building with Gaston. The city moved on, the headlines faded, and a cold winter settled over Manhattan.
Then the day of another reckoning arrived.
The morning sun sliced through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Collins penthouse.
𝖱e𝖼o𝗆𝘮еոd 𝘵𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝘂𝗿 𝖿𝗋𝘪𝗲n𝘥𝗌
Jocelyn sat at her vanity mirror. Today was the day Aspen Schneider was scheduled to stand trial in the Manhattan Supreme Court for felony false imprisonment — the day she had locked Jocelyn in the wine cellar.
Jocelyn was dressed in a razor-sharp tailored black power suit, her hair pulled back into a sleek, severe bun. She looked like an executioner.
Gaston walked into the bedroom wearing a bespoke charcoal suit that made his broad shoulders look like carved granite. He walked up behind her and placed a dark blue velvet box on the vanity table.
Jocelyn frowned slightly. She reached out and popped the lid open.
The light hit the stone and nearly blinded her.
Resting on the black velvet was a massive fifteen-carat Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink diamond, surrounded by a halo of incredibly rare blue diamonds. It was easily three times the size and value of the necklace Victoria had stolen.
Gaston leaned down and pressed a hot kiss to the sensitive skin just below her ear.
“We do not keep things that have been touched by garbage,” Gaston murmured, his voice a low, possessive rumble. “This Pink Star is the only stone worthy of Mrs. Collins p>
A surge of heat flooded Jocelyn’s chest. She looked at his reflection in the mirror, her heart swelling with absolute devotion.
Gaston took the ring from the box, lifted her left hand, and slid the platinum band onto her ring finger. It fit with absolute, terrifying perfection.
Jocelyn turned in her chair, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him down into a deep, bruising kiss.
“Thank you,” she whispered against his lips. “For everything p>
Twenty minutes later, the armored Rolls-Royce Phantom glided into the underground VIP parking garage of the Manhattan Supreme Court.
The heavy car door swung open. Gaston stepped out first and offered his hand to Jocelyn.
The moment her heels hit the concrete, a figure lunged out from behind a support pillar.
It was Kieran Douglas.
He looked horrific. His designer suit was wrinkled and stained, his face unshaven for days, his eyes sunken and bloodshot. Since Gaston had launched the hostile takeover of Douglas Tech, Kieran had lost his empire, his security detail, and what remained of his sanity.
“Jocelyn!” Kieran screamed, his voice echoing wildly through the concrete garage. He threw his arms out, trying to block their path.
Gaston’s bodyguards moved with lethal speed. Two massive men slammed Kieran face-first onto the hood of a parked car with a sickening thud.