Shattered Vows Romano Revenge - Full Story

Taryn couldn't take the pressure any longer. The humiliation, the stares of high-society women who had once courted her friendship, and the sheer terror of her family's collapse snapped her last bit of composure.

She stood up abruptly, knocking her chair back with a loud clatter.

"You scheming bitch!" Taryn shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at my face, her voice echoing off the high ceilings of the ballroom. "You ruined my father! You froze our accounts! You're trying to destroy Barrett because you couldn't keep him happy! He came to me because you were cold, unloving, and obsessed with your stupid work!"

The crowd gasped. Several high-society women covered their mouths in shock at Taryn’s unrefined outburst.

I didn't step back. I didn't blink. I simply raised an eyebrow, looking at her like an annoying insect.

"I gave you everything, Taryn," I said calmly, my voice steady and measured. "I paid off your college tuition when your family went bankrupt twelve years ago. I made you maid of honor at my wedding. I hired you at my firm when nobody else in New York would touch your resume. And how did you repay me? By sleeping with my husband on my sheets while I was working to support us all."

"You think you're so pure!" Taryn screamed, her face contorting with rage. She lunged forward, raising her hand to slap me, just as Barrett had done. "I'll kill you!"

Before she could even reach me, I moved.

Despite the dull ache in my ribs, my instincts took over. I caught her wrist mid-air with a swift, firm grip, twisting it back just enough to freeze her in place. With my other hand, I picked up a heavy crystal bowl filled with iced shrimp cocktail from the nearby table and dumped the entire contents—ice, red cocktail sauce, and cold shrimp—directly over Taryn's head.

SPLASH!

The bright red sauce poured down her face, dripping off her styled hair, ruining her gold designer dress. Ice cubes bounced off her shoulders and tumbled onto the floor.

Taryn shrieked in horror, trying to wipe the thick red sauce from her eyes, looking like a drowned, ridiculous clown in front of two hundred of New York's wealthiest citizens and dozens of flashing press cameras.

FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!

"Oh my God!" Taryn sobbed, looking down at her ruined dress. "My dress! My hair!"

"That's for sleeping in my bed," I whispered coldly, leaning in so only she could hear. "And if you ever raise a hand to me again, Taryn, I won't use cocktail sauce."

Barrett grabbed a napkin, trying frantically to wipe Taryn off while shouting at the security guards. "Security! Get this woman out of here! She assaulted my guest!"

Julian Thorne, the senior federal prosecutor standing beside Dominic, stepped forward, pulling a gold badge and a stack of federal warrants from his coat pocket.

"Security won't be necessary, Mr. Hayes," Julian said calmly, his stern voice cutting through the noise. "Federal Marshals are already here."

Four armed federal agents in dark suits pushed through the ballroom doors, marching straight toward Barrett’s table.

Barrett backed away, his hands shaking. "What... what is this?"

"Barrett Hayes," Julian announced loudly so the entire room could hear. "You are under arrest for grand larceny, bank fraud, forgery, and domestic battery. You have the right to remain silent."

The crowd broke into wild whispers and gasps.

"No! No! You can't arrest me!" Barrett screamed as the agents grabbed his arms, pulling them behind his back and snapping cold steel handcuffs onto his wrists. "Mallory! Tell them to stop! You can't do this to me! I'm a Hayes!"

I stood there, calm and magnificent in my emerald gown, holding my father's arm as Barrett was dragged past me in handcuffs.

As he was pulled past, I leaned in slightly.