Chapter 24 - A Father’s Betrayal
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By Monday afternoon, federal agents had seized the ninety-two million dollars from Lumina Holdings.
My father, Richard, sitting in his cell at the federal detention center awaiting his civil sentencing, received the news from his court-appointed attorney.
An hour later, David Miller received an urgent call from the warden. Richard was demanding an immediate video conference with me.
I sat at my desk in Sterling Tower, looking at the high-definition monitor on the wall.
The screen clicked on, displaying my father sitting in a bleak, gray interrogation room. He wore an orange jumpsuit, his hair graying and unkempt, his face hollowed out by months of incarceration.
"Sarah," Richard rasped, staring into the camera lens.
"Richard," I replied, refusing to call him father.
"You gave it away..." Richard slammed his cuffed hands onto the metal table, his voice cracking with rage. "You gave the Lumina money to the feds! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
"I cleaned up your mess," I said coolly. "I returned the stolen money to federal authorities, and I cut off every single illegal pipeline you built."
"You fool!" Richard yelled, leaning closer to the camera, his eyes wild with terror. "You think you're safe because Evelyn and I are behind bars? The Sovereign doesn't care about police or federal judges! That money was their survival fund!"
"They can try to come after me," I said, leaning forward into my camera. "But unlike you, Richard, I don't hide behind lies, shell companies, or pregnant daughters. I stand my ground."
Richard stared at me, a strange, pathetic mixture of fear and awe passing over his face.
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"They won't come after you, Sarah," Richard whispered, his voice suddenly dropping to a chilling hush. "They don't care about you. They care about the bloodline. They think Grace is the key to the master ledger..."
The video connection suddenly cut to static. The screen went black.
