Chapter 3: The Collapse of an Empire
"Julian Miller Sterling, stay exactly where you are!" a booming voice commanded from the grand entrance of the ballroom.
The heavy double doors were pushed open, but it wasn't the hotel staff. A team of six elite federal agents from the Southern District of New York, accompanied by armed NYPD officers, marched down the aisle, past the rows of stunned billionaires.
Julian tried to scramble backward over the altar, his pristine tuxedo now stained with his own frantic sweat. "You can't arrest me here! This is my wedding! Do you know who my father is?! He funds the governor's campaign!"
"We don't care who your father is, Mr. Sterling," the lead FBI agent said, stepping onto the altar. He completely bypassed Julian and immediately dropped to one knee beside Clara. He gently lifted her up, shouting to the medical staff waiting outside, "We need a paramedic team in here immediately! The victim is bleeding!"
Two female officers quickly moved in on Julian, grabbing his arms and twisting them violently behind his back. The heavy steel handcuffs clicked tightly around his wrists, the sharp metallic sound signaling the absolute end of his dynasty.
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"Clara! You did this! You set me up!" Julian screamed like a maniac as he was dragged down the aisle, his shoes dragging against the expensive floral carpet. The very guests who had been smiling and drinking his expensive champagne just minutes ago now turned their faces away in disgust, refusing to even look him in the eye.
As Julian was shoved into the back of a black police cruiser on Fifth Avenue, his father, the elderly patriarch of the Sterling family, suffered a severe panic attack in the lobby, realizing that their multi-billion-dollar company's stock would plummet to zero by the time Wall Street opened on Monday morning. The Sterling name was permanently ruined, not by Clara, but by the horrific truth of Julian’s own malicious behavior.
