Próbował publicznie zawstydzić swoją byłą żonę, która spodziewała się dziecka, na swoim ślubie — ale nie miał pojęcia, kim się stanie…

These people who had been laughing at my humiliation minutes ago now understood what they had really been witnessing.

The police officer stepped forward, handcuffs ready.

“Derek Stone,” he said, “you’re under arrest for assault, fraud, conspiracy, and about fifteen other charges we’ll discuss downtown.”

Derek’s eyes went wild.

For a split second, he looked like a cornered animal.

Then he ran.

He actually tried to run in his wedding tuxedo.

He made it three steps.

Three.

Before two officers appeared from the exits and tackled him to the ground.

The sound of him hitting the marble floor echoed through the ballroom.

Amber screamed.

Her perfect makeup streaked as tears poured.

“This is my wedding day!” she shrieked. “You can’t do this!”

But Nathan wasn’t done.

He played another recording.

Amber’s voice again—bright, excited, proud.

“Derek is so smart. We’re going to be millionaires. And the best part—we’re getting rid of Paisley forever. She’ll be so destroyed, she’ll probably just disappear on her own.”

The second officer handcuffed Amber as she sobbed.

The guests erupted into chaos.

Some tried to leave.

Others held their phones up, recording everything like it was entertainment.

Derek’s business partners looked panicked. Several tried to slip out quietly, only to find more officers waiting.

Nathan walked to me.

He didn’t look at the crowd.

He looked only at me.

And gently, he draped his jacket over my torn dress.

“It’s over,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”

As Derek and Amber were led out in handcuffs, Derek tried one last time to play the victim.

“She orchestrated this!” he shouted, thrashing against the officers. “My crazy ex-wife set me up!”

Nathan smiled.

It wasn’t kind.

“Actually,” Nathan said, voice calm, “I did.”

He let the words hang.

“And every single thing we’re charging you with is backed by months of evidence that has nothing to do with my sister.”

Nathan stepped closer.

“You destroyed yourself, Derek. Paisley just survived you.”

The next few weeks were a blur.

By the time Nathan and I left the venue that night, news vans were already outside.

Lights flashed.

Reporters shouted.

The air smelled like cold metal and adrenaline.

The story went viral within hours.

Millionaire arrested at own wedding after assaulting pregnant ex-wife.

The video of Derek ripping my dress was everywhere.

But now it had context.

Now people understood what they were really seeing.

I won’t pretend it was easy.

Seeing my own humiliation looped on screens made my skin crawl.

But I also saw something else.

I saw Derek’s mask crack.

I saw people finally stop believing the version of him they’d been sold.

Derek tried to get bail.

The judge denied it.

He was considered a flight risk with assets hidden all over the world.

His expensive lawyers tried every trick they knew, but several ended up implicated in the fraud too, and had to withdraw.

The man who used to brag about owning the city suddenly had public defenders—overworked, underpaid, uninterested in saving his ego.

The trial lasted three weeks.

Three weeks of hearing my life dissected by strangers.

Three weeks of seeing Derek glare at me like I was the villain.

Three weeks of my baby kicking in my belly while I sat in a courtroom that smelled like paper and old wood.

I had to testify nine months pregnant.

Exhausted.

Uncomfortable.

But Nathan had prepared me.

He sat beside me with a calm hand on my shoulder.

And when I took the stand, I didn’t break.

I told my story slowly.

Clearly.

I showed the evidence.

I answered every question with quiet dignity.

The jury took two hours.

Two.

To convict him on every single charge.

Derek got fifteen years in federal prison for the fraud and financial crimes.

The judge added three more years for the assault, specifically noting his callous disregard for the safety of a pregnant woman.

Amber got eight years as an accomplice.

I watched her face when the sentence landed.

She looked like she couldn’t understand that consequences were real.

But Nathan wasn’t done.

He helped me file civil lawsuits for emotional distress, assault, conspiracy, and defamation.

We won 4.7 million dollars in damages.

Derek’s entire empire was liquidated to pay.

The mansion I’d lived in for six years was sold.

I got the proceeds.

Every luxury car.

Every piece of art.

Every asset he’d hidden.

All of it went to paying what he owed me.

His business partners sued him too.

By the time everything was settled, Derek Stone had nothing left.

Three days after the trial ended, I gave birth.

A healthy baby boy.