Chapter 5 - The Desperate Ploy
Vanessa was a cornered animal, and cornered animals always make fatal mistakes.
On Thursday morning, a sleek black town car pulled into my driveway.
My father stepped out, leaning heavily on his silver-tipped cane.
He looked ten years older than he had at the birthday dinner, his face pale and deeply lined with stress.
I stepped out onto the porch, crossing my arms defensively over my chest.
“You are not welcome here,” I stated, my voice devoid of any familial warmth.
“Claire, please,” he begged, his usual arrogance entirely replaced by raw desperation.
“We need to talk about this situation like a family.”
“You are destroying everything I spent my entire life building.”
I laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that echoed across the quiet suburban street.
“You destroyed it yourself when you let your favorite daughter steal millions of dollars under your nose.”
“You destroyed it when you decided my children were not worthy of a seat at your dinner table.”
He took a shaky step closer, pulling a folded check from his coat pocket.
“I will give you two million dollars right now,” he offered, his hands trembling.
“Just call your lawyer off, retract your statements to Sterling, and let us finalize the sale.”
I stared at the piece of paper, feeling absolutely disgusted by his pathetic attempt at bribery.
“Your money is completely worthless to me now,” I told him coldly.
“Besides, that check is likely going to bounce by next week.”
Before he could argue, a police cruiser rolled slowly down my street and parked directly behind his town car.
Two uniformed officers stepped out and walked purposefully toward my front porch.
My father looked confused, but I knew exactly what was happening.
Vanessa had finally made her absolute worst, most desperate move.
“Claire Bennett?” one of the officers asked, resting his hand on his utility belt.
“Your sister, Vanessa Sterling, filed a formal police report against you this morning.”
“She is claiming that you embezzled four million dollars from Bennett Office Supply and forged documents to frame her.”
My father turned to look at me, a brief flicker of hopeful triumph in his tired eyes.
He thought Vanessa had outsmarted me.
He thought this was the moment I would finally break down and surrender to their authority.
Instead, I pulled out my phone and dialed Marcus.
“They just sent the police to my house with false allegations,” I said cheerfully into the receiver.
“Excellent,” Marcus replied, sounding thrilled by the legal suicide Vanessa had just committed.
May you like
“Hand the phone to the officers, Claire.”
“It is time to unleash absolute hell.”
