The Police Station
Outside the doors, the guard slammed Victoria to the ground.
“You can’t do this to me! I’m the CEO of Cole Industries–y company’s about to go public!”
She kept shrieking and struggling, completely unhinged, until a phone suddenly started ringing.
“What?” She jerked it to her ear, her voice sharp with fury
“Ms. Cole?” An unfamiliar male voice came through. “This is Officer Reynolds from the 14th precinct. Your mother has been detained. You need to come to the station to post bail.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Ma’am, your mother was arrested for attempted trespassing and triggering a security alarm at the Grand Plaza Hotel residence. Please come to the station as soon as possible.”
The call ended.
Victoria stood frozen in the hotel corridor, her mind reeling Her IPO was suspended. Her reputation is in tatters. And now her mother got arrested?
Victoria stumbled out of the entrance, the cool night air doing little to clear the haze of shock and fury. She barely registered where she was walking until she collided with someone.
“Watch it…” the man began, stepping back sharply, then froze. “Victoria?”
She looked up. Vincent stood there, his suit jacket slung over his arm. His eyes held a flicker of something she couldn’t place.
“When did you come out?” she demanded, her voice hoarse
He seemed to weigh his words, his jaw tightening. “I was looking for you, I’ll ruin everyone in there for what happened” he said frowning.
Victoria frowned, a sliver of her old sharpness cutting through the numbness..
“What’s wrong?”
“My mother’s been arrested,” Victoria said numbly. “We need to go to the police station.”
Vincent’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “Of course. Let’s go.”
The 14th precinct holding cell was a study in misery.
Mrs. Stone sat on the metal bench, her designer dress wrinkled and torn at one shoulder. Her hair which was usually styled to perfection…hung in disheveled strands around her face. A nasty scratch ran down her left cheek, and her right eye was beginning to swell.
Beside her, Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Parker, and Mrs. Bennett looked equally worse for wear, though they’d positioned themselves as far from Mrs. Stone as the small cell would allow.
Mrs. Stone was still talking to the officer through the bars.I’m telling you, there’s been a mistake! That penthouse is my son–in–law’s marital home! I have the keycard right here!” She waved the black card frantically. “How can it be trespassing when I have permission?”
“Ma’am,” the officer said wearily, clearly having heard this multiple times already, “I need you to be quiet.”
“But you don’t understand…”
1/3
The Www Station
“I said be quiet.”
+25 Bonus
Mrs. Anderson seized the moment. “Officer, please, this has nothing to do with us! She’s the one who dragged us there! We didn’t know it was trespassing! Can’t you just let us go?”
Mrs. Parker nodded eagerly. “We’re completely innocent! We were just following her!”
Mrs. Bennett added quickly, “We had no idea what she was planning!”
The officer slammed his baton against the bars with a sharp clang. “All of you, shut up!”
The women fell silent immediately.
The officer walked away, shaking his head.
The moment he was out of earshot, Mrs. Anderson turned on Mrs. Stone with barely contained rage. “This is all your fault! All your showing off and bragging, and now we’re sitting in a jail cell!”
Mrs. Parker’s voice was venomous. “Do you have any idea what this will do to our reputations? My husband is going to kill me!”
“My son is a lawyer,” Mrs. Bennett hissed. “A senior partner at one of the most prestigious firms in the city, and his mother just got arrested for trespassing! How am I supposed to face him?”
Mrs. Stone’s face flushed with anger. “How was I supposed to know the keycard wouldn’t work? Vincent gave it to me himself! He said…”
“Vincent lied to you, you fool!” Mrs. Anderson snapped. “That apartment obviously belongs to your useless son- in–law…the one you’ve been mocking for three years!”
“That’s impossible!” Mrs. Stone’s voice rose. “Adrian couldn’t possibly afford…”
“And yet he does!” Mrs. Parker cut in. “While you were busy humiliating him, he was actually successful! And you were too blind to see it!”
Mrs. Stone stood up, her fists clenched. “Don’t you dare talk about my family like…”
Mrs. Anderson shoved her. Hard.
Mrs. Stone stumbled back against the bench, then lunged forward with a shriek.
Within seconds, all four women were fighting…pulling clothes, yanking hair, scratching at faces with sharp nails. Mrs. Bennett’s designer handbag became a weapon. Mrs. Parker’s shoe went flying across the cell.
“Get off me, you witch!”
“This is your fault!”
“I’ll sue you for this!”
The commotion drew the officers back immediately. Two of them rushed in, pulling the women apart.
“Enough!” The first officer bellowed. “One more outburst and you’re all spending the night here!”
The women separated, breathing hard, glaring at each othe with pure hatred.
Mrs. Stone turned away from them, pressing her hand to her swollen face…
And found herself staring directly at Victoria and Vincent, who stood just outside the cell bars.
Victoria’s expression was a mixture of horror and fury. Vincent looked distinctly uncomfortable, his eyes darting everywhere except at Mrs. Stone.
2/3
The Police Statsoly
“Mom?” Victoria’s voice came out strangled.
Mrs. Stone’s eyes filled with tears. “Victoria! Thank god you’re here! Tell them there’s been a mistake!
Vincent’s face went pale.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
