Chapter 17
Richard dropped his flashlight, throwing his arm over his eyes to block the sudden, harsh glare. As his vision adjusted, the blood in his veins turned to ice.
Emma sat casually on a sturdy wooden crate in the center of the archive room. Beside her stood Grandpa Walter, leaning heavily on a silver-tipped cane, his face a mask of profound, tragic disappointment. Flanking them were two armed private security contractors, their hands resting comfortably on their tactical belts.
"How did you..." Richard breathed, backing away toward the heavy steel door.
"Julian flagged a burner phone purchase near your motel," Emma explained, her voice echoing in the concrete room. "He cloned the device's location data. We watched you pace your room, we watched you drive here, and we watched you pry open a coal chute like a common burglar. I must admit, I didn't think you would actually be stupid enough to break into the estate."
"I had no choice!" Richard yelled, the desperation breaking his voice completely. "They're going to kill me, Dad! The shadow lenders! I owe them twelve million! You have to help me, you have to give me the bonds!"
Walter struck the concrete floor with his cane, the sharp crack silencing his son instantly.
"There are no bearer bonds in this room, Richard," Walter said softly, the exhaustion of the betrayal heavy in his chest. "There haven't been for a decade. You broke into your own childhood home to steal phantoms."
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"No... no, that can't be," Richard fell to his knees, his hands scrambling across the concrete floor as if the money might magically appear from the dust. "They're going to kill me. Emma, please. You have the offshore accounts. Just wire the money to them. Just twelve million. You can keep the rest!"
Emma stood up, smoothing the front of her dark slacks. "I didn't freeze those accounts to keep the money, Richard. I froze them so the federal authorities could untangle the web of fraud you spun. The money isn't mine to give. And even if it were, I wouldn't spend a single cent to save a man who tried to destroy this family."
