Chapter 5

　　~ Isabella ~

　　The heavy metal cuffs clicked around my wrists.

　　"Isabella Hart, you are under arrest for corporate fraud," the officer said. His voice was flat and cold.

　　I could not breathe. My mind went blank. I looked at the dark gray paper on the table in front of me. It was the formal document handing me over to the police. Down at the bottom of the last page, there was a fresh signature in black ink.

　　It was Nathan's handwriting.

　　I knew his loops and sharp corners better than my own name. He had signed it. My husband, the man I had spent eight years building a life with, had handed me to the federal agents. He did not ask me a single question. He did not listen when I said I was innocent. He just picked up his pen and signed my freedom away.

　　"Walk, ma'am," the officer commanded, pushing my shoulder gently.

　　My legs felt like heavy blocks of ice. I stumbled forward through the long, bright hallway of the Federal District Court building. Flashbulbs went off everywhere. Reporters pushed against the blue police tape, shouting questions and shoving microphones toward my face.

　　"Isabella! Did you steal millions from Wolfe Enterprises?"

　　"Isabella! How long were you hiding the offshore accounts?"

　　I kept my head down. I stared at my own black shoes clicking against the cold marble floor.

　　"Get out of the way!" a loud, angry voice called out from the side.

　　Maya pushed through three security guards. Her hair was messy, and her face was red. She held a thick brown folder in her hands, waving it frantically.

　　"She didn't do it!" Maya screamed at the officers. "Look at the time stamps on these logs! Someone altered her digital signature! You are arresting the wrong person!"

　　Arthur Wolfe stepped out from the side corridor. He wore his expensive gray suit, resting his hands on top of his gold-headed walking cane. His face was completely still, like a stone statue.

　　"Maya Lin," Arthur said, his voice quiet and cutting. "You are an employee of Wolfe Enterprises. You do not speak to federal officers without authorization."

　　"I don't care about your authorization, Arthur!" Maya yelled, stepping right up to him. "You know Bella is innocent! She worked eighteen hours a day for this firm! You set her up!"

　　Arthur did not even blink. He tapped his cane once on the floor.

　　"You are fired, Miss Lin," Arthur said calmly. "Effective this second. Security, escort this woman out of the building and clear her desk by noon."

　　Two large security guards grabbed Maya by her arms.

　　"You won't get away with this!" Maya shouted, struggling against their grip as they dragged her backward down the hall. "Bella, don't give up! I will find a way to fix this!"

　　"Maya!" I tried to run toward her, but the federal officer yanked my arm back hard.

　　"Stay still, ma'am," he ordered.

　　"Bella!" another voice shouted from the front doors.

　　My heart stopped. My younger brother, Leo, came running through the tall glass entrance. He wore his faded blue denim jacket and carried a heavy backpack. His face was pale, and his breathing was fast and shallow. He looked exhausted.

　　"Leo, stop!" I yelled, trying to wave my hand, but the handcuffs held my wrists together. "Leo, stay back!"

　　"What is happening?" Leo cried, his eyes wide with fear. He reached out to me, his hands shaking wildly. "Bella, why are they putting chains on you? What did they do?"

　　"Go home, Leo!" I begged, tears burning in my eyes. "Please, just go home!"

　　"No! I'm not leaving you!" Leo took two quick steps toward me, but then he suddenly froze.

　　He placed a hand over his chest. His mouth opened wide, but no sound came out. The color completely drained from his lips, turning them a faint, sick blue.

　　"Leo?" I screamed.

　　His knees buckled. His heavy backpack slid off his shoulder and hit the marble floor with a loud thud. A second later, Leo collapsed onto his side, hitting the floor right in front of the press crowd.

　　"Leo!" I dropped to my knees, but the officers held my shoulders tight, pinning me to the spot. "He has a heart condition! Help him! Please, somebody call an ambulance!"

　　Two paramedics ran toward Leo, pulling a heavy medical bag behind them. They rolled him onto his back and placed an oxygen mask over his mouth. I watched my twenty-four-year-old brother lie helpless on the ground, his chest barely moving up and down.

　　"He's hyperventilating! His pulse is dropping!" one paramedic called out.

　　"Help him," I wept, bowing my head until my forehead touched the cold floor. "Please save my brother..."

　　"Get her up," the officer said, pulling me back to my feet. "The judge is waiting in the holding room."

　　They dragged me through a set of heavy wooden doors into a small, plain courtroom. The room was cold and smelled like old paper and lemon cleaner.

　　Nathan sat at the long wooden table near the front. His arms were folded tight against his chest. His dark suit looked crisp, but his face was deathly pale. Dark circles sat under his eyes.

　　Julian stood beside him, holding a stack of legal folders. Julian wore a gentle, sympathetic look on his face, but his eyes were sharp and steady.

　　"Nathan," I whispered, stepping toward the table. "Nathan, please look at me."

　　Nathan did not move. He kept his eyes locked on the empty wooden wall in front of him. His jaw was clenched so hard I could see a tiny muscle twitching in his cheek.

　　"Nathan, it's Leo," I pleaded, my voice cracking. "Leo collapsed outside. He's in an ambulance right now. Please, tell these people it's a mistake. You know I would never steal from our company. You know me!"

　　Nathan swallowed hard, but he still refused to turn his head. He looked right past me, as if I were made of glass.

　　"Your Honor," Julian spoke up, stepping forward toward the bench. "Wolfe Enterprises has presented clear digital proof. Isabella Hart used her administrative clearance to transfer funds out of our primary accounts into fake foreign companies."

　　"That is a lie!" I screamed at Julian. "You know it's a lie!"

　　"The evidence is signed and verified by the CEO," Julian continued, ignoring my shout completely. "We are requesting immediate detention."

　　The judge tapped his wooden mallet on his desk. Clack.

　　"Isabella Hart, you will be held in federal custody pending trial," the judge declared.

　　"Nathan, please!" I cried, pulling against the officer holding my left arm. "Look at me! Look at your wife!"

　　Finally, Nathan stood up from his chair.

　　He did not look into my eyes. He looked down at my hands, at the cold metal links connecting my wrists. Slowly, he reached into his inner suit pocket and pulled out a thick white envelope.

　　He did not hand it to me gently. He tossed the envelope across the table. It slid across the wood and hit my stomach before falling onto the floor between my shoes.

　　The front of the envelope had bold black letters printed across it: PETITION FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE.

　　"Before going into that damn cell, I want a divorce," Nathan said. His voice was cold, flat, and hollow, like a stranger talking to a stranger. "Sign it… Isabella."

　　A sob burst from my throat. The pain in my chest felt worse than a physical strike.

　　"A divorce?" I whispered, tears spilling fast down my cheeks. "Eight years, Nathan. We started in a basement with three hundred dollars. I loved you. I gave you everything."

　　"You destroyed everything," Nathan said quietly. For a fraction of a second, his eyes met mine. They were empty. "Sign the paper."

　　Julian handed a black pen to the officer standing beside me. The officer unclipped one of my hands from the cuffs so I could reach down.

　　I bent over, my body shaking so hard I could barely hold my balance. I picked up the white envelope and pulled out the smooth white paper.

　　My hands trembled violently. I pressed the tip of the black pen against the dotted line at the bottom of the page. Hot tears dripped off my chin, soaking into the white paper and blurring the printed black words.

　　I signed my name. Isabella Hart.

　　I dropped the pen onto the table. It rolled off the edge and hit the floor with a quiet snap.

　　"I am innocent," I whispered, staring straight into Nathan's cold, blank face. "And one day, you will realize what you did."

　　Nathan turned his back on me.

　　The two officers grabbed my arms, turning me around toward the rear exit. They led me down a dark, concrete hallway toward a heavy steel door at the end of the corridor.

　　The lock turned with a sharp, loud clank.

　　The officer shoved me inside the small, dark cell. The steel door slammed shut behind me, blocking out the light, the press, and the man I had once loved.

　　"Nathan!!!" I screamed as hot tears slid down my face. I can't believe the man I've always loved and support for years just believed a lie about me. He turned his back on me. He didn't even listen to me, be didn't hear me out.

　　"Nathan how could you"? I said to myself, clutching my chest so hard. I've never felt this heartbroken in my life. "Leo!" the thought of his collapse earlier made my heart beat fast. "How will he survive? Did anybody even attend to him? I hope my brother is okay... He's all I have left."

　　"Hello!" I screamed through the cell hallway. "Is anybody there? Please hear me out. I'm innocent, everything was a lie please... You have to listen to me". I screamed, but no one answered to me.

　　I sat down on the hard mattress. I did not cry anymore. The tears dried up on my cheeks. In that exact moment, the sweet, naive girl who trusted her husband died. The love I had for Nathan turned into nothing but cold, hard dust. My soft heart was gone. Inside the dark cell, a new, freezing steel began to grow inside my soul. I was going to survive this place. And when I got out, I would make them pay for every single thing they took from me. "Nathan... I will make sure you regret everything you did to me".