Chapter 18
The news of the frozen accounts broke Margaret’s composure faster than any police interrogation ever could.
When Harrison returned to the interrogation room to deliver the fatal blow, Emily watched through the two-way mirror as Margaret finally, completely unraveled. The stoic, aristocratic posture collapsed. She screamed at her lawyer, sweeping a stack of legal pads off the metal table in a fit of violent, impotent rage.
“It’s done,” Arthur said, closing his laptop with a satisfying click. “Every single dime of the eighty million dollars is officially secured in a holding trust controlled exclusively by you, Emily.”
Daniel stood in the back of the observation room, watching his mother’s breakdown.
“She always loved the money more than she loved me,” Daniel whispered, a sad, broken realization washing over him. “I was just a prop. A tool to keep the narrative intact.”
Evelyn walked over to the young man, placing a gentle, motherly hand on his shoulder. It was an act of profound grace, comforting the son of the woman who had destroyed her life.
“You have a chance to be better than her, Daniel,” Evelyn said softly. “You broke the cycle today.”
Detective Vance returned to the room, holding a freshly printed file.
“The District Attorney signed off on the upgraded charges,” Vance announced, looking at Emily with newfound respect. “Murder in the second degree, conspiracy, grand larceny, and severe medical fraud. She’s being remanded to the county jail without bail.”
Emily nodded, feeling the massive, crushing weight of the last twenty years finally lifting from her mother’s shoulders.
“What about Vanessa?” Emily asked.
“Vanessa is currently singing like a canary in Room B,” Vance smirked. “The moment she realized Margaret couldn't pay her legal fees, she flipped. She confessed to planting the necklace in your bag on Margaret’s direct orders.”
“Of course she did,” Emily said, entirely unsurprised. Loyalty bought with money always evaporated when the bank account ran dry.
“There’s one more thing,” Arthur interrupted, looking up from Diane’s red ledger. His brow was deeply furrowed.
“What is it?” Emily asked.
“I was tracking the offshore routing numbers from Apex Holdings, trying to map where Richard’s portion of the money went before he supposedly died,” Arthur explained, turning the laptop screen toward them. “The money didn't stop in the Caymans. It was heavily routed through a series of shell companies in Europe, and finally deposited into a private medical facility in Switzerland.”
Emily frowned. “Why would Richard send millions to a Swiss hospital?”
“He didn't send it there to hide it,” Arthur said, his eyes widening as he read the final line of the ledger. “He sent it there to pay a bill. A continuous, ongoing medical bill that has been automatically deducting for the last five years.”
The room went dead silent.
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“Richard isn't dead,” Daniel gasped.
“No,” Emily said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the Swiss banking data. “He’s alive. And we know exactly where he is.”
