Chapter 6 - The Unraveling
Vanessa froze mid-step, her jaw trembling. ""That... that was mom and dad! Julian and I didn't know how bad it was!""
""Really?"" I pulled a glossy eight-by-ten photograph from my folder and slid it across the mahogany table until it stopped right in front of Julian.
The photograph showed the dark slate-gray pickup truck registered to Apex Logistics, caught on camera just seconds before it rammed my car into the guardrail.
Julian stared down at it, his throat bobbing violently as all the air seemed to leave his lungs.
""Recognize the truck, Julian?"" I asked, my voice deadly quiet. The entire room went dead silent. ""Apex Logistics. You transferred twenty thousand dollars from your petty cash slush fund to a former felon named Marcus Ruiz two hours before my car went off the road. The New York State Police arrested Mr. Ruiz forty-five minutes ago in Yonkers. He's already singing to the District Attorney to avoid an attempted murder charge.""
My father gasped, clutching his chest as he dropped back into his leather chair. ""Julian... what did you do? You told me you just paid someone to scare her into leaving her work laptop behind!""
The admission hung in the air like poison.
Vanessa turned to Julian, her eyes wide with horror. ""Julian... you tried to kill her?""
Julian didn't answer. He lunged across the table toward me, his face contorted in psychotic rage. ""You ruined me! You pathetic, self-righteous little bitch, I'll choke the life out of you—""
Before he could even touch the edge of my jacket, two plainclothes detectives who had been waiting outside the door tackled him to the floor. The sound of Julian's face smashing into the hardwood was sickeningly loud. Within seconds, his arms were pinned behind his back, the sharp metallic snap of handcuffs ringing through the silent room.
""Julian Vance, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, corporate fraud, and grand larceny,"" Detective Miller recited calmly, hauling him off the floor.
Julian thrashed against the handcuffs, spitting blood onto the rug. ""Robert! Call our lawyers! Robert, fix this!""
Robert didn't move. He sat frozen, staring at his daughter as if looking at an executioner.
I turned my gaze toward my father. ""The State Attorney General has also unsealed an indictment against Vance Development’s executive board. That includes you, Robert. Every fake invoice you signed, every inflated property valuation you rubber-stamped to pocket two-hundred-thousand-dollar kickbacks—it's all documented in the binders behind me.""
""Claire... please,"" Robert stammered, tears streaming down his weathered cheeks. He reached out a trembling hand. ""I'm your father. I raised you. I gave you everything. You can't let them arrest me. I’m an old man... I won’t survive prison!""
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""You raised me to know that family only matters when it's convenient,"" I replied coldly. ""You told the hospital you’d come if I died. Well, Robert... as far as this family is concerned, the daughter you knew is dead.""
Two more officers stepped forward, placing their hands on Robert’s shoulders and guiding him out of his chair. He didn't fight. He slumped forward, weeping openly as the handcuffs clicked around his wrists.
