Chapter 7 - The Aftermath and the Betrayal
The arrest of Daniel Sterling dominated morning news cycles across the state. Financial news channels flashed headlines about the collapse of Sterling Wealth Management, while local tabloids feasted on the explosive details of domestic abuse and corporate embezzlement.
Claire sat in my living room, wrapped in a warm blanket, watching the news broadcast on mute. Her left eye was still bruised, but the terror in her eyes had been replaced by a fragile, hard-earned peace.
'He’s really gone,' she murmured, watching footage of Daniel being led into the federal courthouse for his arraignment.
'For now,' I said, setting a mug of chamomile tea on the table. 'Federal bail hearings are tricky when someone has offshore accounts, but Judge Harrison denied bail given the flight risk.'
My phone rang. It was Ethan Hayes.
'Maya, you need to get down to the federal precinct immediately,' Ethan said, his voice unusually strained.
'What happened? Did Daniel post bail?'
'No. But during the inventory search of his mansion’s private safe, we found something unexpected. Something that implicates someone very close to you.'
My stomach tightened. 'Who?'
'Come down and see for yourself. Room 4B.'
Thirty minutes later, I walked into the interrogation room at the federal precinct. Ethan handed me a manila folder containing a single printed email and a signed bank receipt.
I pulled out the paper and read it. My breath caught in my throat.
It was an internal corporate memo dated three weeks ago, transferring two hundred thousand dollars from Sterling Wealth Management’s primary operating account into a personal savings account registered under the name *Claire Sterling*.
Attached to it was a handwritten note signed by Claire, authorizing the transfer as part of a joint investment scheme orchestrated by Daniel.
'She knew,' Ethan said quietly. 'According to these documents, Claire wasn't just an abused housewife who knew nothing about his business. She signed off on the initial shell company filings five years ago.'
I stared at the paper, my mind racing. Claire had sworn to me—with tears in her eyes, with a broken rib, shivering in the rain—that she knew nothing about his empire, that he owned everything and she owned nothing.
'No,' I said, shaking my head. 'Daniel forged her signature. He’s done it before on joint tax returns.'
'We checked the handwriting forensics, Maya,' Ethan said gently, placing a hand on my shoulder. 'It’s her signature. Not forged. She signed it.'
I walked out of the precinct in a daze, drove back to my apartment, and found Claire sitting right where I left her, staring blankly out the window.
I stood in the doorway, holding the manila folder. 'Claire,' I said, my voice dangerously calm. 'Did you know about Apex Holdings?'
May you like
Claire slowly turned her head, her face pale, the last remaining color draining from her cheeks as she looked at the folder in my hands.
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