Chapter 7 - Everything They Had Hidden
Grant lowered the bat as officers surrounded the porch.
One officer moved it out of reach while another guided Emily away from Vivian. Robert climbed the final step and pulled his daughter into his arms.
For several seconds, Emily could not speak.
She had spent almost a year believing her father had betrayed her. Now he stood between her and the people who had tried to erase her voice.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Robert held her tighter.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
Vivian recovered quickly.
“This is a misunderstanding,” she told the officers. “Emily has been emotionally unstable since her mother died.”
The doorbell camera continued blinking.
An officer’s radio sounded.
The emergency upload had been received.
Recordings, photographs, financial documents, Vivian’s confession, and the false medical statement were now stored on several independent systems.
Grant’s expression emptied.
Vivian looked at him.
“You said you disabled the cameras.”
“I disabled all of them.”
Emily stepped away from her father.
“Not my mother’s.”
The foundation’s attorney arrived at the gate carrying a laptop. The suspicious transfers had been frozen before the money could leave the country.
The chief accountant also came forward. She admitted Grant had threatened to destroy her career if she refused to alter the records.
Several guests had witnessed Grant breaking the glass and blocking Emily from leaving. Others had heard Vivian falsely describe Emily as mentally incapable.
Grant tried one final defense.
“She is my wife. I was protecting her.”
Emily looked directly at him.
“You were protecting yourself.”
Officers escorted Grant toward a police vehicle.
Vivian was taken separately after trying to hide several financial documents beneath her gown.
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As the vehicles pulled away, the rain began to weaken.
For the first time in years, the mansion felt quiet.
