Chapter 9 - The Fall of Vivien Cole
The moment the words left Vivien’s mouth, the double doors behind her swung open.
Bright white light poured into the library as four uniform police officers, accompanied by two detectives from the Greenwich Police Department, stepped into the room.
Behind them stood Harrison, holding a legal folder, and Rosa, standing safely near the door with a police liaison.
Detective Miller stepped forward, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt.
"Vivien Cole," the detective announced loudly. "You are under arrest for attempted murder, aggravated assault, and corporate extortion."
Vivien spun around, her eyes wide with shock and horror as she looked at the police officers, then back at Nathaniel.
"Nathaniel!" she cried out, her voice turning into a pathetic, desperate sob as the officers grabbed her arms. "You set me up! You lied about your mother being conscious!"
Nathaniel walked over to the desk, picked up the digital voice recorder, and turned off the blinking red light.
"My mother is still sleeping, Vivien," Nathaniel said quietly, looking down at her with pure disdain. "The news release was a fake. But your confession... is very real."
"You bastard!" Vivien shrieked, kicking and flailing as the officers pinned her arms behind her back, clicking the cold steel handcuffs around her wrists. "You can't do this to me! Do you know who my family is?!"
"Your family is bankrupt, Vivien," Harrison chimed in coldly from the doorway. "And by tomorrow morning, your name will be splashed across every financial paper on the East Coast."
As the officers dragged the screaming, hysterical socialite down the hallway, Nathaniel stood by the library door, watching her disappear into the dark corridor.
The three-year lie was finally over. The poison in his home had been extracted.
He turned toward Rosa, who was standing quietly near the doorway, still looking shaken by the intensity of the scene.
Nathaniel walked up to her, his expression softening completely.
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"Thank you, Rosa," Nathaniel said, his voice genuine and warm. "You and Lily saved my mother’s life. And you saved mine."
Rosa wiped a lingering tear from her eye, offering a small, relieved smile. "She’s just a little girl, Mr. Nathaniel. She only knows how to tell the truth."
