Chapter 4 - Cold Air and Hard Truths
The heavy metal door burst open, and the howling Manhattan wind hit Caroline like a physical blow.
Snow was falling thick and fast, swirling in the high-altitude air above the Sterling Tower helipad.
Fifty yards away, the rotors of a black, unmarked helicopter were already beginning to spin, chopping through the freezing air with a deafening roar.
Arthur was running toward the aircraft, his coat flapping wildly in the gale-force wind.
"Arthur!" Caroline screamed over the sound of the engine.
He stopped near the edge of the helipad, turning around to face her.
The city lights below lit his face in a harsh, theatrical yellow glow.
"It’s over, Caroline!" Arthur yelled, raising his voice above the roar of the helicopter. "The transfer documents are signed! The offshore accounts are activated! By tomorrow morning, I will control fifty-one percent of the holding company!"
"With a forged signature!" Caroline yelled back, advancing slowly across the slick, ice-covered concrete. "My mother is downstairs! She remembered everything! She knows about the documents you forced her to sign before you locked her away!"
Arthur laughed, a harsh sound that was swallowed by the wind. "A senile old woman’s testimony against a certified notary? Good luck with that in court!"
"She isn't senile, Arthur," a voice called out from the doorway.
Caroline turned in shock.
Margaret was standing at the entrance of the rooftop, wrapped in a heavy wool security coat, leaning heavily against the doorframe.
Despite her frail body, her posture was straight, her eyes sharp and clear in the blizzard.
"I kept the logbook, Arthur," Margaret shouted, her voice remarkably clear over the storm. "Every night I cleaned this building, I wrote down every floor you visited, every file you moved, and every code you used. The notebook is already in the hands of the police."
Arthur’s face contorted in sudden panic. "You... you were just a cleaner! You couldn't even read the file names!"
"I spent thirty years as the CFO of your father's first company before I raised my daughters, you arrogant fool," Margaret said, stepping out into the snow. "I knew what you were doing the moment I saw you in the archive room."
Arthur backed up toward the helicopter, his confidence completely shattered.
He reached for the door of the chopper, but the pilot suddenly cut the engine.
The heavy blades began to slow down.
The pilot raised his hands and stepped out of the cockpit, followed by two armed federal agents clad in tactical gear.
"Arthur Vance!" an agent yelled through a megaphone. "Step away from the aircraft! Federal Bureau of Investigation!"
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Arthur looked around wildly. The exits were blocked. The sky was closed.
He was trapped on top of the world he had tried so hard to steal.
