Chapter 5 - The Felony Union
Bianca collapsed against the wall, sliding down the wallpaper until she hit the floor in a heap of wrinkled champagne silk.
She buried her face in her hands, weeping with the wild, uncontrollable panic of a cornered criminal whose disguise had been ripped to shreds.
Damian backed away from her, holding his hands up in frantic self-preservation.
“I knew nothing about this!” Damian shouted, his voice cracking into a desperate shriek.
“Clara, I swear to God, I had no part in her madness!”
“I was deceived! Bianca seduced me and told me our marriage was the only way to save the corporate brand!”
I looked down at the man I had called my husband for sixty long, painful months.
The disgust in my chest was colder than the surgical steel that had repaired my heart.
“You knew nothing, Damian?” I asked, tilting my head slightly.
“Then why did you decline five consecutive priority emergency calls from the Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery while you stood under that floral arch?”
“Why did you instruct your personal executive secretary to block all incoming transmissions from St. Jude’s Hospital?”
Damian swallowed hard, his throat making a dry, clicking sound as he searched frantically for an excuse.
“I… I thought it was press inquiries!” Damian stammered.
“I didn't know it was an emergency!”
Marcus Cole stepped between Damian and the board, holding up a certified document bearing the official seal of the New York State Department of Health and Vital Records.
“Furthermore, Mr. Thorne,” Marcus stated with devastating legal precision.
“Let us discuss the legal validity of your lavish ceremony at the Plaza Hotel last night.”
“You and Mrs. Clara Vance-Thorne have never signed a separation decree, a postnuptial agreement, or a dissolution of marriage.”
“Under the penal code of the State of New York, entering into a secondary marriage contract while actively bound to a lawful spouse constitutes intentional, aggravated bigamy.”
“The fraudulent marriage license you filed with the city clerk yesterday afternoon carries an automatic felony indictment.”
Damian stared at the document, his knees trembling so violently he had to lean against the conference table to keep from collapsing.
“Bigamy…?” Damian breathed, the word tasting like pure ash in his mouth.
“No… we filed for an emergency annulment last month…”
“An annulment requires the verified signature of both parties, Damian,” I said, stepping forward until I was standing inches from his pale face.
“You forged my signature while I was unconscious in the ICU last week.”
“And our handwriting forensic team has already submitted forty pages of comparative analysis to the District Attorney’s office.”
Two federal marshals moved forward, unholstering heavy steel handcuffs with a sharp, mechanical click.
“Damian Thorne and Bianca Caldwell,” the lead marshal announced, stepping into the room.
May you like
“You are both placed under federal custody for attempted first-degree murder, felony bigamy, conspiracy to commit chemical homicide, and multi-million-dollar securities fraud.”
The sound of metal ratcheting around Bianca’s wrists echoed through the high-rise tower, accompanied by her piercing, hysterical screams.
