Chapter 9 - Handcuffs and Downfall
Richard's face drained of every ounce of color. He collapsed back into his leather executive chair, his mouth opening and closing without making a sound.
"We have the mechanic's sworn confession, Richard," I said, stepping up to the head of the table. "He admitted under oath that you paid him fifty thousand dollars to cut the brake lines on my father's Mercedes. We have the wire transfer receipts from your offshore account in Nassau."
"No... no, that's a lie! It was an accident!" Richard stammered, looking around the room at his fellow board members, who were all backing away from him in horror.
"And as for your daughter," Detective Miller added, pulling out a second set of handcuffs, "officers are currently executing a search warrant on her penthouse. We found the Digitalis vials in her kitchen, along with the receipts for the toxic herbal tea she was using to poison Evelyn Caldwell."
At that exact moment, two uniformed officers led Claire into the boardroom hallway.
She was wearing a grey prison jumpsuit, her hands chained behind her back, her makeup smeared, her eyes wild with terror. Gone was the arrogant, polished society woman who had checked her veil in the mirror while my mother bled on the floor.
"Ethan! Help me!" Claire screamed, sobbing hysterically as she saw me through the glass walls. "My father forced me to do it! It was his idea! He told me we needed the money! Please, Ethan, I love you!"
I looked at her through the glass wall with total, unyielding detachment.
"You didn't love me, Claire," I said quietly, my voice carrying through the open doorway. "You loved my father's money. And you mistook my mother's kindness for weakness."
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Detective Miller pulled Richard up from his chair, forcing his arms behind his back, and clicked the cold steel handcuffs tightly around his wrists.
"Richard Vance and Claire Vance," Detective Miller said, guiding them both toward the elevators under the flashing cameras of news reporters who had gathered in the lobby. "You have the right to remain silent."
