Chapter 9 - The Arrest
Richard stared at his useless cell phone in absolute, utter disbelief.
Two uniformed police officers rushed into the penthouse, aggressively grabbing Richard by the arms.
"Richard Vance, you are under arrest for extortion, wire fraud, and criminal conspiracy," Agent Vance declared loudly.
They slammed him roughly against the glass wall and clamped heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists.
Richard thrashed wildly, screaming horrible curses at everyone in the room.
"You are nothing but a pathetic loser, Ray!" Richard spit as they dragged him toward the door.
Ray stood incredibly tall, completely unfazed by the desperate insults of a defeated man.
"I am the father of three beautiful children," Ray replied with absolute, quiet dignity.
"You are just a lonely man going to a federal prison."
The officers marched Richard out into the hallway, his screams fading slowly into the elevator shaft.
Agent Vance put his weapon away and walked over to where Ray and I were standing.
"We already raided Brenda's house an hour ago," Agent Vance informed us with a slight smile.
"We found the bank wire transfers proving she paid Richard to manufacture the fake foreclosure."
Ray closed his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh of incredible relief.
"What happens to Danny and Cara?" Ray asked, his voice shaking just a little bit.
"Brenda is facing serious conspiracy charges, which means you will be granted full, permanent custody by the end of the week," Vance assured him.
I looked up at Ray, seeing the exhausting weight of the world finally lift completely off his shoulders.
"We need to go home and tell Mom," I said, tugging gently on Ray's rough sleeve.
Ray looked down at me, his tired eyes filling with completely unshed tears.
"Let us go home, son," Ray said softly.
We rode the elevator down to the lobby in total, peaceful silence.
When we walked out through the revolving glass doors, the morning sun was shining brightly over the city.
The nightmare my biological father had brought into our lives was finally, definitively over.
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But as we walked toward Ray's old, beat-up truck, I noticed a piece of folded paper tucked under the windshield wiper.
I reached out and pulled the paper free, unfolding it slowly in the bright sunlight.
