PART : The Final Sentence
The holding cell at the precinct was cold, smelling of bleach and regret. Cassandra sat on the metal bench, still wearing her ruined red dress, the expensive fabric now stained and wrinkled. Her makeup was smeared down her face, leaving her looking hollow and pathetic.
When the heavy steel door creaked open, she bolted upright, expecting her high-priced lawyer to walk through.
Instead, Marcus stood in the doorway. He looked pristine, untouchable, and utterly merciless.
"Marcus!" Cassandra cried, rushing to the bars. She clasped her hands together, tears streaming down her face. "Marcus, please! You have to listen to me! I was stressed! I made a mistake! I love you, and I love Lily! We can fix this!"
Marcus didn't blink. He simply looked at her with the same disgust one might reserve for a poisonous insect.
"Your lawyer isn't coming, Cassandra," Marcus said quietly. "I bought his firm an hour ago. He dropped you as a client."
Cassandra’s desperate tears stopped, replaced by a freezing, suffocating panic.
"Furthermore," Marcus continued, stepping closer to the bars, "I bought your family's debts. Every single penny you owe is now owed to me. If you manage to avoid a ten-year prison sentence for child abuse and attempted fraud, you will spend the rest of your life working minimum wage to pay me back. You are penniless. You are hated. You are nothing."
"You can't do this to me!" she screamed, her elegant facade finally violently shattering. "I gave you my life!"
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"You tried to take my daughter's," Marcus replied, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "And for that, I am going to make sure you never see the sun shine on a life of luxury again."
Marcus turned his back on her screams, walking out of the precinct and into the crisp morning air. He had a company to run, an empire to expand, and most importantly, a little girl waiting at home to be loved.
