Chapter 5 - Marcus Flips
The second arrest broke them. Julian was denied bail, deemed a flight risk and a danger to me. He was remanded to county jail to await trial.
Marcus, however, was a coward at heart. Facing charges of breaking and entering, violating a protective order, and conspiracy, his loyalty to his cousin evaporated instantly.
He showed up at my agency’s downtown office with his lawyer, begging for a meeting with Diane and me. I let him sweat in the conference room for an hour before walking in, holding a steaming cup of tea.
“Victoria, please,” Marcus stammered, looking pale and exhausted. “Julian made me do it. He said if we wiped the servers, he could win the divorce settlement and pay me the fifty grand he owes me. I have proof of everything! I have his hard drive. It shows how he targeted you, how Eleanor picked you out of a magazine article.”
He pushed a silver hard drive across the table. “Take it. Just… tell the DA to drop the B&E charges. Please.”
I didn't touch the drive. I looked at Diane, then back at Marcus. “You helped him terrorize me. You filmed him attempting to assault me, smiling while you did it. You tried to destroy my company’s reputation online.”
“I was manipulated!”
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“You’re an adult, Marcus,” I said coldly. I pulled an evidence bag from my pocket and slid the hard drive into it using a pen. “I’m taking this drive because it’s evidence of a crime. But I don’t make deals with accomplices. I highly suggest you prepare for a lengthy prison sentence.”
I walked out, leaving him sobbing in his lawyer's arms.
