"We have a federal warrant for your immediate arrest," Agent Miller stated clearly, unholstering a pair of steel handcuffs. "You are being charged with multi-state wire fraud, grand larceny, corporate embezzlement, framing a federal witness, and money laundering exceeding twenty million dollars."

"No! No! This is a mistake!" Richard shrieked, looking around frantically at the disgusted faces of Seattle's elite. "Vanessa! Tell them! Talk to your father! Help me!"

Vanessa Blake glared at Richard with raw disgust, stepping back to stand behind her father. "Get away from me, you pathetic, lying leech."

Agent Miller slammed Richard face-down against a mahogany display table, snapping the cold steel cuffs onto his wrists with a sharp, metallic clack. As he was hoisted back up, his hair disheveled, his expensive tuxedo ruined, and tears streaming down his sweating face, Richard locked eyes with Corin.

"Corin... please!" he wept desperately. "Tell them it’s all a mistake! We were married for seven years! You loved me!"

Corin stepped closer to him, looking down into his shattered, pathetic face without a single trace of emotion.

"I loved an illusion, Richard," she said quietly, her voice cold enough to freeze blood. "You discarded me because you believed I was useless baggage. But as it turns out... I was the only structural beam keeping your entire pathetic life from collapsing."

As the federal agents dragged Richard kicking, screaming, and sobbing out of the grand ballroom, the crowd erupted into intense chatter. Arthur Blake walked slowly up to Corin, bowing his head in profound respect.

"Mrs. Harris... Corin," Arthur said quietly. "It appears I owe you a debt of gratitude that I can never fully repay. If you had not brought this evidence forward tonight, my life's work would have been destroyed."

"You owe her nothing, Blake," Victor interrupted smoothly, stepping up beside Corin and lacing his fingers tightly through hers. "Her brilliant mind belongs exclusively to the Moretti Group now."

Corin looked up at Victor, feeling the overwhelming strength of his hand, the fierce, unshakeable loyalty he had shown her since the night he rescued her from the street.

For the first time in her life, she felt completely, undeniably safe.

An hour after the federal agents had marched Richard Harris out of the hotel in chains, the atmosphere inside the Bellevue Imperial Hotel ballroom had transformed from chaotic scandal into a grand, glittering celebration. The drama of the arrest had only solidified Victor Moretti’s position as the true power broker of the city, making his table the absolute focal point of the evening.

Victor stood up from his seat at the head of the main table, holding a heavy silver spoon and tapping it gently against his crystal champagne glass.

Chink. Chink. Chink.

The entire ballroom fell completely silent once again. Every politician, executive, and socialite turned their undivided attention to the Capo.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Victor began, his deep baritone carrying effortlessly across the vast space. "Tonight was originally intended to celebrate corporate partnerships and strategic mergers. While certain fraudulent partnerships have met their rightful end tonight... far more important, far more permanent bonds are just beginning."

He turned his body to face Corin, his piercing blue eyes softening into a gaze of absolute, unyielding devotion that left the surrounding guests breathless.

"Over the past month, I have had the incredible honor of watching an extraordinary woman rebuild her life from absolute ashes," Victor continued, his voice ringing with pride. "I have witnessed her unmatched intelligence, her unbelievable courage, and her absolute refusal to let the cruelty of weak men break her spirit."

He extended his right hand to her. Corin took it gracefully, rising to her feet to stand directly beside him, her heart beating a wild, joyful rhythm against her ribs.

Victor reached into his tuxedo jacket and withdrew a small, sleek black velvet box.

A collective, audible gasp echoed across the room.

Victor snapped the box open, revealing a magnificent ten-carat cushion-cut blue diamond ring, framed by a delicate halo of rare pink diamonds that caught the light of the chandeliers like a piece of captured galaxy.

He did not kneel—Victor Moretti bowed to no living man—but he turned to face Corin completely, taking her hand in his, his gaze locked onto hers with profound sincerity.

"Corin Harris," Victor said, his voice echoing clearly throughout the hall. "You entered my life on a freezing night in the rain, and you transformed my entire world. I do not merely desire a brilliant financial partner for my empire. I desire a Queen."