Chapter 9 - The House of Cards Collapses
Robert’s face went from pale to a mottled, terrifying shade of crimson.
"Helen, you're out of your mind! This is a private family matter! Marcus, tell these people to get the hell out of my house!"
Agent Henderson stepped forward, pulling a pair of stainless-steel handcuffs from his belt.
"Robert Carter, you are under arrest for federal trademark counterfeiting, wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion."
"You don't have any proof of that!" Robert roared, backing toward the back door with his fists clenched.
"The proof is in the federal vault, Robert," Marcus said, opening his briefcase to reveal copies of the thirty-two-page ledger.
"Your handwriting, your customer receipts, your Bahamas account numbers, and the seven thousand dollars in cash you left in the bottom drawer of your tool chest."
Robert lunged toward Helen, his face contorted in a mask of vicious hatred that stripped away twenty-eight years of false affection.
"You ruined us, you stupid bitch! I was setting up a life for us! I did this for our retirement!"
"You did this for a twenty-four-year-old girl and an offshore account, Robert," Helen replied, her voice ringing with absolute finality.
"You used my name to scam Marcy, you used my name to scam my friends, and you let me carry a fake purse so people would trust you."
Agent Henderson and his partner tackled Robert to the floor, pinning his arms behind his back with two loud, sharp clicks of steel.
They dragged him out the back door, past the garage where another federal team was already loading his industrial sewing machine onto a flatbed tow truck.
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Neighbors gathered along the street, watching in utter shock as Robert Carter, the town's beloved handyman with golden hands, was shoved into the back of an unmarked federal cruiser.
Helen stood on the porch, watching the flashing red and blue lights disappear down the road, feeling the suffocating weight of twenty-eight years of deceit lift from her chest.
