Chapter 16 - THE AFTERMATH
Marcus survived, but barely.
He was transported to the hospital under heavy police guard.
The officer in the cruiser had been drugged with a dart, but he would recover.
I sat in the back of an ambulance while a paramedic checked Noah's vitals.
He was perfectly fine.
Just scared.
Detective Mitchell arrived on the scene looking exhausted.
"We have Marcus's laptop," she told me.
"We found it in his car."
"It has everything."
"The offshore accounts, the forged deeds, the client list."
"He kept meticulous records of every crime."
I wrapped a blanket tightly around my shoulders.
"What about Ethan?" I asked.
"Ethan tried to deny everything," Mitchell said with a grim smile.
"Until we showed him the evidence from the laptop."
"He realized Marcus had kept all the receipts."
"He broke down and confessed to the fraud."
"But he tried to blame the kidnapping plot entirely on Marcus."
I scoffed.
"Typical."
"Always blaming someone else."
Mitchell nodded.
"The FBI is currently unfreezing your assets."
"The forged loan on your house has been invalidated."
"You're going to get everything back, Emma."
I looked down at Noah, who had fallen asleep against my chest.
"Not everything," I whispered.
"I lost eight years of my life."
"I lost the sister I thought I had."
"I lost the illusion of safety."
Mitchell sat next to me on the ambulance bumper.
"You survived," she said softly.
"Most of his victims were destroyed completely."
"Some ended up bankrupt."
"Some ended up in psychiatric facilities."
"You fought back."
"You broke his entire empire in a single day."
I thought about the manILA folder.
Phase Two.
If I hadn't listened to my intuition...
If I had just accepted Ethan's lies about the "investment"...
I would have been destroyed.
"What happens to Claire?" I asked.
"She's cooperating," Mitchell said.
"She gave a full confession."
"She admitted to forging the documents and helping coordinate the transfers."
"She claims she didn't know about the other women or the plot to take Noah."
"I believe her," I said quietly.
"Claire is selfish and greedy, but she isn't evil."
"She was just another pawn Ethan used."
Mitchell sighed.
"She'll still do time, Emma."
"The federal prosecutor isn't going to let her walk."
"I know."
I didn't feel sorry for her.
She had made her choice.
Now she had to live with it.
"Can I go home now?" I asked.
Mitchell nodded.
"The crime scene tape is down."
"Your house is yours again."
May you like
I carried Noah to my father's car.
It was time to start over.
