Chapter 2 — The First Arrest
No one spoke.
The recording echoed through the mansion one final time before Isabella tapped the screen and silence returned.
Vivian's perfectly manicured hand trembled almost imperceptibly.
Marcus forced a laugh.
"That's fake."
His voice cracked halfway through the sentence.
Isabella didn't bother looking at him.
Instead, she knelt beside her father and handed him a sealed envelope.
"You asked me years ago never to let anyone steal what Mom and you built."
Richard stared at the envelope.
His hands shook so badly he couldn't open it.
Isabella smiled gently.
"I'll do it."
Inside lay the original Hale Family Trust, bearing Richard's signature from twenty-two years earlier, notarized long before Vivian had entered their lives.
Vivian's face drained of color.
"Where did you get that?"
"The courthouse."
Another voice interrupted.
"And from my office."
Everyone turned.
Three attorneys entered through the front door, followed by two forensic document examiners carrying locked briefcases.
Behind them walked two Dallas detectives.
The private nurse stepped quietly into the foyer.
"I made the call."
Vivian spun toward her.
"You traitor!"
The nurse remained calm.
"I became a nurse to save lives."
She looked at Richard.
"Not help destroy them."
One detective approached Isabella.
"Ms. Hale, do you have the original recordings?"
She handed over her phone.
"And thirty-seven additional files."
Marcus stopped smiling.
The detective continued.
"We also received security footage from the house."
Vivian blinked.
"What security footage?"
"The footage you thought had been deleted."
Marcus suddenly looked at Vivian.
"You told me everything was erased."
Vivian whispered back.
"It was..."
Isabella quietly answered.
"You deleted the copies."
"I recovered the originals."
The detective nodded toward Vivian.
"Mrs. Hale..."
"You are under arrest for financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, fraud, conspiracy, and evidence tampering."
Handcuffs clicked around Vivian's wrists.
May you like
For the first time in years...
Richard smiled.
