Chapter 24 - The Handcuffs
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The moment the word left my lips, the heavy oak doors of the conference room burst open.
Four plainclothes detectives and two uniformed officers flooded into the room, their movements swift and overwhelmingly tactical.
"Julian Vance! Keep your hands where I can see them! Do not move!" the lead detective shouted, stepping quickly to the table and snatching the forged document before Julian could even flinch.
Julian froze, his eyes widening in absolute, primal terror. The blood completely drained from his face as he looked wildly from the police officers to me.
"What... what is this?" Julian stammered, his voice cracking violently. "Arthur, what did you do?"
"Julian Vance, you are under arrest for extortion, forgery, and attempted wire fraud," the detective recited coldly, pulling Julian out of his chair and forcing his hands behind his back. The sharp, metallic click of the handcuffs echoed loudly in the quiet room.
"Arthur! You set me up!" Julian screamed, struggling against the officers' iron grip. "You can't do this to me! I'm your brother!"
I stood up slowly, buttoning my suit jacket with deliberate, calm precision. I walked around the table until I was standing inches away from him. He was weeping now, a pathetic, broken mess of a man who had finally hit a wall he could not scream his way through.
"I didn't set you up, Julian," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, but carrying the weight of absolute finality. "You built this trap with your own greed, and you walked into it entirely on your own. I just stopped paying the toll."
"Please, Arthur!" he sobbed, his knees buckling as the officers held him up. "Please, don't let them take me!"
I turned my back on him without a single trace of hesitation.
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"Take him away," I told the detectives.
I walked out of the conference room, leaving the screaming ghost of my past behind forever.
