Chapter 9 - The House of Cards
The federal agents didn't waste a single breath on pleasantries as they approached Thorne.
"Marcus Thorne, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit corporate espionage and wire fraud," the lead agent stated, flashing a badge.
Thorne panicked, looking wildly around the room for an escape route that didn't exist.
"This is absurd!" Thorne yelled, pointing a shaking finger at me. "He set me up, this is a setup!"
"You set yourself up the moment you transferred twelve million dollars to a known embezzler's accounts," I replied calmly.
I had tipped off the FBI the moment I realized Thorne bought the fake shares from Martin Collins’ accounts.
They forcefully grabbed Thorne, slapping handcuffs on his wrists and marching him out of the boardroom in complete disgrace.
Claire sat frozen in her leather chair, her mouth hanging open, the reality of her total destruction finally crashing down.
Her brothers quietly stood up and slipped out the back door, abandoning her to save themselves.
The room emptied until it was just me, Harrison, and my treacherous soon-to-be ex-wife.
"Daniel... please," Claire whimpered, tears spilling down her heavily made-up face.
"I have nothing left. My dad is in jail, Marcus is ruined, I have no money, no home."
She stood up and took a hesitant step toward me, trying to manifest the fake affection she had used for eight years.
"We can fix this. I can change. We can be a real family."
I looked at the woman I had once sacrificed everything for, feeling nothing but absolute pity.
"You showed me exactly what you think of family on Christmas Eve, Claire," I said coldly.
I gestured to Harrison, who handed her a thick legal document.
"This is a civil lawsuit for the four million dollars your family embezzled," I explained.
"We are seizing the estate, the cars, the jewelry, and every single asset bought with my money."
"You will be working minimum wage for the rest of your life just to pay off the interest of what you owe me."
Claire let out a gut-wrenching sob, dropping to her knees on the expensive carpet, clutching the lawsuit to her chest.
I adjusted my tie and walked out of the boardroom without looking back.
I stepped into the private elevator, feeling the immense weight of the last eight years finally lift from my shoulders.
I pulled out my phone and called Sophie.
"Pack your bags, sweetheart," I said, a genuine smile breaking across my face for the first time in months.
"We're going home, and we're getting a dog."
The elevator chimed as it reached the ground floor, signaling the absolute end of the Collins family reign.
May you like
But as I walked through the lobby, my chief of security intercepted me, his face grim and pale.
"Sir," he whispered urgently. "Someone bypassed our vault security five minutes ago while the feds were upstairs."
