Chapter 8 - The Public Spectacle
I watched the screen of my phone as Vanessa wept perfectly manufactured tears for the television cameras.
She was sitting on a plush velvet couch next to our mother, looking like a tragic victim.
"My sister Claire has suffered a complete psychotic break since the accident," Vanessa lied to the reporter.
"She used her dead husband's company to illegally freeze our bank accounts out of pure jealousy."
Our mother nodded sadly, dabbing her dry eyes with a silk handkerchief.
"Claire is trying to destroy our family because she cannot handle her own grief," my mother added maliciously.
They were attempting to destroy my public reputation to force the board of Meridian to remove me from power.
They had no idea that Greg was currently lying face down on my living room floor in zip ties.
I looked at Marcus, who was securing Greg's discarded weapon into an evidence bag.
"Send the audio confession of my father and the video of Greg's home invasion directly to Detective Miller," I ordered Marcus.
"Tell the police to bring an arrest warrant for double homicide to this address immediately."
Marcus nodded and stepped outside to make the secure phone call.
I walked over to Greg, who was sobbing pathetically into the expensive rug.
"Vanessa is on television trying to save your reputation," I told him coldly.
"She thinks she can win a public relations war against a woman who has nothing left to lose."
Fifteen minutes later, police sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder as they approached my neighborhood.
Detective Miller walked through my broken front door, looking completely disgusted by the evidence Marcus had just sent him.
His officers hauled Greg roughly to his feet and read him his Miranda rights for the murders of my family.
Greg begged me to help him as they dragged him out into the flashing red and blue lights of the police cruisers.
I did not even blink as the door closed behind him.
The next morning, the national news cycle completely shifted its focus.
The headline did not read about a crazy widow destroying her family.
The headline read: "Local Businessman Arrested for Brutal Murder of Aerospace CEO and Children."
The article detailed the cut brake lines, the cartel debt, and the audio confession captured in my living room.
Vanessa and my parents were instantly disgraced on a massive, public scale.
But I was not finished with them yet.
I picked up the heavy corporate contract Greg had signed the previous week.
I called my lead corporate attorney and instructed him to execute the liability clause immediately.
Greg had defaulted on the Meridian contract the moment he was arrested for federal crimes.
Because my parents were the legal guarantors of Greg's company, all their assets were now legally forfeit to Meridian Aeronautics.
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I was going to take their massive estate, their retirement funds, and every single dime they owned.
Suddenly, my office door swung open, and Vanessa charged into the room looking completely unhinged.
