Chapter 10 - The Fall of the Patriarch
The parking garage was damp and poorly lit.
My footsteps echoed off the concrete as I walked toward the designated pillar.
Ryan stepped out of the shadows, looking disheveled and angry.
"Where is your lawyer?" he demanded, scanning the area.
"Upstairs," I said, wrapping my coat tighter around myself.
"I came alone. Just like you asked."
"Good," Ryan sneered, stepping closer.
"Sign the paperwork dropping the charges, and I'll hand over the drive."
"First, tell me why," I said, forcing my voice to tremble.
"Why did you do it, Ryan? Why steal two point four million dollars from your own wife?"
Ryan rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed by my emotional display.
"Because you wouldn't give it to us, Claire!"
"Dad's business was going under. The bank was foreclosing on the strip mall."
"So you just forged my name?" I asked, guiding him toward the confession.
"It was easy," he bragged.
"You signed that power of attorney. I just transferred it to the Evergreen account."
"And your mom? She helped you?"
"Mom just signed where we told her to. She didn't ask questions."
My heart pounded against my ribs. We had the wire fraud on tape.
Now for the assault.
"And New Year's Eve?" I pushed.
"Did you plan that, too? Holding me down while your father burned me?"
Ryan's face darkened, and he took a menacing step forward.
"You humiliated him, Claire. You acted like you owned us just because you made more money."
"Dad just wanted to teach you a lesson. To put you in your place."
"So you admit you held my wrists while he assaulted a pregnant woman?"
"I held you so you wouldn't hurt the baby by thrashing around!" he shouted defensively.
"It was your own fault!"
"That's enough," a voice echoed through the garage.
Detective Ramirez stepped out from behind a parked van, his gun drawn.
Two uniformed officers flanked him.
Ryan froze, his eyes darting from the police to me.
He reached into his pocket for his phone.
"I'll leak it!" he screamed. "I'll ruin your company!"
"Go ahead," I said coldly.
"Check your shaving kit, Ryan. The drive is gone."
Realization crashed over his face.
"Brooke," he whispered, horrified.
"Hands on the hood of the car, now!" Ramirez barked.
Ryan fell to his knees, sobbing as the cuffs clicked around his wrists.
"Where is your father?" Ramirez asked him.
"Airport," Ryan wept. "He took the last hundred grand in cash."
"He's flying to Mexico."
Ramirez tapped his radio. "Intercept Grant Pierce at DIA. He's a flight risk."
I watched them drag my husband to the squad car.
May you like
He looked back at me, pleading with his eyes.
I didn't blink. I just turned and walked back to the elevator.
