Chapter 14 - Rats Leaving the Ship
|
Within forty-eight hours, the Fairchild family’s world had been completely dismantled.
Brendan was staying in a cheap motel near the highway, his personal credit cards declined, his bank accounts frozen under federal asset preservation orders.
His phone rang once—a call from Samantha Hayes.
He answered it desperately, grasping at any thread of comfort. "Samantha... baby... where are you? I need help with bail money for the civil suit."
"Don't call me baby," Samantha’s voice came back, cold, sharp, and entirely stripped of the warmth she had shown him when he was writing her checks. "I'm calling to tell you that my legal team is filing an affidavit stating that I had zero knowledge of your fraudulent financial transfers."
Brendan sat up on the squeaky motel bed, horrified. "What?! You knew where the money came from! You helped me set up the agency account!"
"I believed you were an honest businessman, Brendan," Samantha said smoothly. "Turns out you were just a fraud who couldn't even manage your own family. Don't call this number again."
The line went dead.
Brendan dropped his phone onto the worn carpet, burying his head in his hands as the reality of his isolation settled over him.
He had traded a loyal, brilliant wife who had given up her world for him for a snake who abandoned him the moment the checks stopped clearing.
May you like
He had let his only child die in a cold hospital room while he drank champagne with a woman who didn't even know his middle name.
In the small motel room, illuminated only by the neon light buzzing outside the window, Brendan Fairchild finally realized the true cost of his arrogance.
