Chapter 5 - THE ASSET LIQUIDATION
The arrests were clinical. There was no screaming, no dramatic resistance—just the cold, mechanical sound of handcuffs clicking into place. Claire and Diane were escorted to the patrol car, their designer clothes looking like costume shop rags against the stark reality of the squad car’s back seat.
As they drove away, I didn't feel triumph. I felt an immense, overwhelming exhaustion. I walked back into the house and sat down at the kitchen table, the silence now finally filled with the peace I had been starved of for years.
My phone rang. It was Marcus Vale.
"I heard the news, Daniel," Marcus said, his voice strangely calm. "It’s quite a mess you’ve made."
"It’s not a mess, Marcus," I replied. "It’s a clean-up operation. My lawyers will be in touch about the evidence we have against you regarding the embezzlement of the corporate trust."
"You think you’ve won?" Marcus laughed, a thin, paper-dry sound. "You’ve destroyed your own life, Daniel. You’re a single father with two broken children and a scandal that will follow you forever."
"My children aren't broken," I said, my grip on the phone steady. "They’re resilient. And you’re about to find out exactly what happens when you mess with a man who has nothing left to lose."
May you like
I hung up, blocked the number, and started drafting the email to the state attorney general. The real work was just beginning.
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