Chapter 7 - Turning the Sister
I met Brooke at a quiet coffee shop two blocks from the penthouse.
She walked in looking like a ghost.
Her designer clothes were wrinkled, and her eyes were red-rimmed from crying.
She sat across from me, clutching her purse defensively.
"Are you happy now?" she hissed.
"We had to move into a cheap motel by the highway."
"I'll be happy when my stolen money is returned," I replied evenly.
I slid a folder across the table.
"What's this?" she asked, eyeing it like it was a bomb.
"Evidence," I said.
"Your father assaulted me. Your brother held me down."
"And your mother signed the fraudulent documents that drained my accounts."
Brooke opened the folder and read the highlighted signature.
The color drained completely from her face.
"Mom is going to jail?" she whispered.
"Yes. And so is Ryan. And so is Grant."
Brooke looked up at me, panic setting in.
"I didn't sign anything! I didn't know!"
"I believe you," I said smoothly.
"But the police might not. You lived in the house. You benefited from the stolen money."
"What do you want from me, Claire?" she begged.
I leaned forward, dropping my voice.
"I know Ryan has a flash drive with my company's data."
"I want it."
Brooke swallowed hard. "If I get it for you... what do I get?"
"I won't press charges against you for accessory after the fact," I promised.
"And I will give you fifty thousand dollars in cash to start a new life away from them."
Her eyes widened at the sum.
"Fifty grand?"
"Enough to get a nice apartment and figure out your life," I said.
"But I need that drive tonight."
Brooke hesitated, her loyalty to her family warring with her self-preservation.
"Ryan keeps it in his shaving kit," she finally muttered.
"He thinks nobody would look there."
"Bring it to Sarah's office at 8:00 PM," I instructed.
"You'll get the cash in a briefcase."
Brooke nodded slowly, closing the folder.
"They're going to kill me if they find out."
"They won't find out until it's too late," I assured her.
May you like
I watched her walk out of the coffee shop, feeling a cold satisfaction.
Checkmate.
