Chapter 10 - The Reckoning
Two hours later, the central precinct conference room was cold and quiet.
Victoria sat at the metal table, flanked by her father, Arthur Montigue, and two high-priced defense attorneys.
She had been taken into custody at the building entrance after security alerted the police to the assault on Lily.
Arthur Montigue leaned forward, glaring at Detective Vance across the table.
"This is an outrage!" Arthur roared. "My daughter is a prominent socialite! You are holding her on the word of a disgruntled maid and a three-year-old child!"
The door opened, and Ethan walked into the room, accompanied by the district attorney and Clara's former estate lawyer.
Ethan set a thick black binder on the table, followed by the small USB drive.
"She isn't being held on their word, Arthur," Ethan declared flatly, taking a seat. "She is being held on forty-two gigabytes of forensic financial data recovered from Clara's estate vault."
Victoria's face turned as white as paper.
"The files..." Victoria whispered, her voice cracking. "You found the drive..."
The district attorney opened the binder, displaying pages of offshore wire transfers, forged signatures, and fraudulent invoices totaling over sixty million dollars.
"Miss Montigue," the prosecutor announced gravely, "the charges now include grand larceny, corporate fraud, conspiracy, and felony child endangerment."
Arthur turned to his daughter, his eyes wide with horror as he realized his entire family fortune had just been destroyed.
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"Victoria..." Arthur gasped. "What did you do?"
Victoria buried her face in her hands, letting out a loud, pathetic sob as the steel handcuffs clicked around her wrists once more.
