Chapter 4 - The Tables Turn
The shockwave that rippled through the bedroom was palpable.
Beatriz staggered backward, her face turning an ash-gray color, her manicured hands flying up to cover her mouth as she stared at Matthew in unadulterated horror. She looked as though she were staring face-to-face with a literal ghost risen from the grave.
"M-Matthew?" Beatriz stammered, her voice pitching up into a hysterical shriek. "You... you can talk?! You were supposed to be—!"
"Paralyzed? Incapacitated? Completely helpless?" Matthew finished for her, his eyes burning with an intense, icy fire as he slowly pushed himself up on his elbows, shedding the neck brace that had imprisoned him for months. "I’ve been awake for five months, Beatriz. I heard every single word you said in this room. Every plot, every bribe, every betrayal."
Alvin’s knees buckled. He dropped heavily onto the edge of the velvet armchair, staring wildly between Matthew and the federal agents. "Bro... brother, listen to me, it was a misunderstanding! Bea manipulated me, she threatened—"
"Shut your mouth, Alvin," the lead FBI agent snapped, stepping forward and clicking a pair of heavy steel handcuffs around Alvin’s wrists with a sharp, metallic clack. "You’re recorded on wiretaps discussing the vehicle tampering and insurance fraud. Save your excuses for the judge."
Two other agents moved swiftly toward Beatriz, pinning her arms behind her back as she thrashed and shrieked in furious denial.
"You can't do this to me!" Beatriz screamed, her designer composure completely shattering as she was shoved toward the doorway. "This is my house! Matthew, you can't prove anything!"
"Dr. Mena recorded every conversation, Beatriz," Lucy stepped forward, holding her phone up so the live camera feed captured Beatriz’s tear-streaked, panicked face. "And by the way—thanks to the livestream currently broadcasting to three million people nationwide, your real estate lawyer, your bank, and every news station in Colorado are watching you get arrested live on air."
Beatriz let out a feral, desperate wail as the federal agents hauled her out of the master bedroom, dragging her down the grand staircase past the notary public, who stood frozen in absolute disbelief with the closing documents still clutched in his trembling hands.
Alvin was escorted out right behind her, his head hung low in total defeat, muttering curses under his breath.
Within minutes, the flashing red and blue lights of police cruisers flooded the driveway outside, painting the bedroom walls in a rhythmic, glaring strobe.
The heavy oak door clicked shut, leaving only Matthew, Lucy, and Dr. Gabriel Mena standing in the quiet room.
Matthew let out a long, ragged exhale, sinking back against the pillows. The adrenaline rush was fading, leaving his muscles aching and weak, but his chest felt lighter than it had in half a year.
Lucy dropped her phone onto the mattress, rushed forward, and threw her arms around her father’s neck, sobbing tears of pure relief.
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"You did it, Dad," Lucy whispered against his shoulder. "You actually outsmarted them."
"We did it, sweetheart," Matthew corrected softly, resting his hand gently on her hair. "We survived."
