Chapter 8 - The Price of Abandonment
The silence that followed in the executive conference room was deafening. The color drained from Todd’s face until he looked like a walking corpse. Marjorie’s jaw dropped so low she looked like a caricatured villain, her manicured fingers clutching her pearls. The triumphant smirk that had adorned Todd’s face vanished, replaced by sheer, suffocating panic. He stared at the screen, then at Sarah Kensington, his vocal cords struggling to produce sound. ""Where... where did you get that?"" he stammered, his voice trembling. ""That's illegal! You can't record me!""
""Under Iowa law, Mr. Nolan, a commercial vehicle's dashcam operating on a public roadway is entirely legal,"" Sarah Kensington replied in an icy, professional tone. ""Furthermore, external perimeter audio recorded on a public thoroughfare carries zero reasonable expectation of privacy. But more importantly, Mr. Nolan, what this recording documents is not a marital spat. It documents intentional reckless endangerment, criminal coercion, and fraudulent conspiracy to commit financial extortion."" Sarah stood up and dropped a heavy stack of papers in front of Todd.
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""This is a formal petition for dissolution of marriage,"" Sarah stated. ""Along with an emergency ex-parte temporary restraining order barring both of you from approaching Rebecca, her residence, or Hawthorne Orthopedic Clinic. Furthermore, our criminal law associates have already forwarded this video and audio file to the Linn County Sheriff’s Department and the Iowa Department of Transportation. Leaving an individual stranded on an unlit secondary highway in sub-freezing temperatures constitutes misdemeanor reckless endangerment at minimum, and depending on the prosecutor, felony endangerment of an adult.""
Marjorie jumped to her feet, knocking her chair backward. ""You can't do this! I am a senior citizen! My son is an upstanding citizen!"" Dr. Vance stood up, his towering presence commanding total authority. ""Mrs. Nolan, you have created a disturbance in a medical facility, attempted to commit payroll fraud, and tried to defame one of my most valued department heads. If you and your son do not vacate these premises within thirty seconds, the armed hospital security guards waiting outside that door will place you under citizen's arrest until the Cedar Rapids police arrive."" Todd scrambled to his feet, his hands shaking so violently he dropped his keys twice before dragging his hysterical mother out the door.
