Chapter 6 - The Confession
The air in the room grew thick. Sarah’s heart pounded, but she kept her composure. The wire was transmitting perfectly to the FBI command vans parked three miles away.
"So it's true," Sarah said, her voice dropping the facade of terror. "You ordered Marcus to kill Toby. Just like you ordered Marcus to beat my son."
"I order order and discipline," Arthur corrected arrogantly. "Oakhaven is a machine. The shipping yards, the real estate, the clinics—they require absolute control. When dock workers tried to unionize, I had them silenced. When Mayor Hayes tried to audit our taxes, I bought his mortgage and threatened his family. I am the god of this town, Sarah."
"And Ethan?" Sarah asked.
"Ethan was weak," Arthur scoffed. "He was growing up with your pathetic sense of justice. He was a threat to the bloodline. I told Greg that if he wanted to inherit my empire, he needed to prove he was a Sterling. He needed to watch his son be broken and do nothing. And he passed the test with flying colors."
Greg looked down at his expensive shoes, unable to meet Sarah's gaze.
"You're monsters," Sarah whispered.
"We are survivors," Marcus sneered, stepping toward her. "Now, where is the drive, you bitch?"
Sarah didn't back away. She stood tall, her posture shifting from a grieving mother back to a Chief Petty Officer of the United States Navy.
"The drive is currently in the hands of the U.S. Attorney," Sarah said smoothly. "Along with the recording of this entire conversation."
Arthur’s smug smile vanished. "What did you say?"
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"Checkmate," Sarah said.
Before Arthur could shout for his security guards, the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of the study shattered inward in a shower of glittering glass.
