Chapter 5 - The Ruined Career
The silence on the dock was absolute, broken only by the sound of the ocean waves slapping against the wooden pylons.
I looked at Robert, expecting him to laugh off Victoria's desperate threat.
Instead, his jaw tightened, and a flicker of genuine panic crossed his cold eyes.
"You have no idea what you are talking about," Robert said, but his voice lacked its usual commanding thunder.
Victoria let out a triumphant, venomous laugh.
"I know all about the offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, Robert," she purred.
"I know about the illegal arms shipments you financed in the late nineties to build your empire."
My stomach dropped into a bottomless pit.
I had been married to Robert for ten years, and I had never heard a single whisper about illegal arms dealing.
"Lewis found the hidden financial trails while he was pretending to court your naive little daughter," Victoria gloated.
"If you don't call off the FBI right now, you will spend the rest of your life in a concrete cell."
Robert stood frozen, the undisputed king of the corporate world suddenly cornered by a greedy socialite.
He looked at me, his eyes begging for an ounce of understanding.
"Sarah, I can explain," he whispered.
I took a step back from the man I had once loved, feeling utterly betrayed.
Victoria seized the moment of weakness.
"Here are my terms," she demanded loudly.
"You drop the embezzlement charges against Lewis, and you force Chloe to legally transfer the condo to us by midnight."
She pointed a long, manicured finger at my chest.
"If you refuse, I ruin Robert, and your precious daughter goes to jail for grand larceny."
Victoria grabbed Brenda’s arm and confidently marched past the security guards, knowing Robert wouldn't dare stop them.
Once they were gone, Robert collapsed onto a wooden bench on the dock, burying his face in his hands.
"Is it true?" I asked, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and disgust.
"Yes," he confessed quietly.
"I did terrible things to build my company, but I swear I only did it to secure a future for you and Chloe."
I shook my head, refusing to let him use us as an excuse for his crimes.
"You just handed them the ultimate weapon to use against our child," I cried.
We drove back to my apartment in suffocating silence.
When we walked through the door, Chloe was sitting at the kitchen table, staring blankly at a legal document.
"What is that?" I asked, rushing over to her.
She looked up at me with tear-stained eyes.
"Lewis just had a courier drop off the finalized divorce papers and the property transfer deed," Chloe sniffled.
"He attached a note saying if I sign the condo over to him tonight, he will drop the criminal charges against me."
Robert stepped forward, his face pale with guilt.
"Don't sign it, Chloe," he begged.
May you like
"If she doesn't sign it, you go to federal prison for treason," a new voice echoed from the hallway.
We all spun around to see Lewis standing inside my apartment, holding a loaded handgun aimed directly at my daughter.
