Chapter 8 - The Fall of Arthur
Saturday morning dawned bright, clear, and washed clean by the overnight storm. The storm clouds were gone, replaced by a brilliant blue sky and warm sunshine.
By 10:00 AM, Sarah Vance met Mark and me at the central police station precinct downtown. Arthur was sitting in a holding cell below, charged with multiple felonies: attempted burglary, felony destruction of property, harassment, and extortion.
"The District Attorney is taking this very seriously," Sarah told us in the station lobby, holding a copy of the police report. "Given the video evidence from your security cameras, the broken door, and his recorded statements, Arthur is looking at three to five years in state prison."
"Does he have bail?" Mark asked.
"Set at $100,000," Sarah grinned. "Which he obviously cannot pay. But it gets better."
"How so?" I asked.
"When they booked him last night, they ran his fingerprints through the national database," Sarah explained, leaning in closer. "It turns out Arthur has been living under an assumed name in two neighboring states for the last seven years to dodge outstanding civil judgments and tax evasion warrants. The IRS has been looking for him since 2018."
I let out a breathless laugh. "He came out of hiding after seven years... just to extort me?"
"Greed makes people remarkably stupid, Evelyn," Sarah said softly. "He saw your company mentioned in a local business magazine six months ago, realized you were successful, and thought he could intimidate you into giving him a quick cash payout before the federal authorities caught up with him. Instead, he walked right into a trap of his own making."
An hour later, the detective on the case allowed me five minutes to speak with Arthur in the interrogation room before he was transported to the county jail. Mark waited outside the door with the officer.
When I walked into the small, sterile room, Arthur was sitting at the metal table, wearing an orange jumpsuit. The arrogant, smirking man who had crashed my son's party six days ago was completely gone. In his place was a hollowed-out shell of a man, his skin pale under the fluorescent lights.
"Evelyn," he rasped, his hands shaking in his wrist restraints. "Please... you have to tell them it was a misunderstanding. Tell them I was just emotional. I can't go to prison at my age..."
I sat down across from him, resting my hands on the cold metal table.
"You're not going to prison because of a misunderstanding, Arthur," I said quietly. "You're going to prison because of the choices you made. You chose to abandon your daughter. You chose to steal from my mother's estate. You chose to stalk my family, leak my private financial data, and break down my door with a crowbar."
"I was desperate!" he cried, tears finally spilling over his wrinkled cheeks. "I have nothing! No money, no home, no family!"
"You had a family," I corrected him, my voice devoid of anger, filled only with sad truth. "You had a daughter who loved you. You had a sister-in-law who offered to help you grieve when Mom died. You had a grandson who could have known his grandfather. You threw all of us away because you thought money and freedom were more important than responsibility."
Arthur hung his head, sobbing quietly into his cuffed hands.
"Aunt Clara is proceeding with the child support claim," I added smoothly. "Whatever assets you have left will be seized by the court to pay her back. When you get out of prison, you will owe every cent you ever make to the woman who actually raised your child."
I stood up from the table, smoothing my jacket.
"This is the last time you will ever see me, Arthur," I said, leaning down so he could hear every word. "Do not write to me from prison. Do not have anyone call me. If you ever mention my name or my son's name again, my legal team will ensure you spend the rest of your life behind bars. Goodbye."
I turned and walked toward the heavy steel door.
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"Evelyn! Wait!" Arthur yelled behind me, his voice cracking with desperation. "Evelyn, please! I'm your father!"
I didn't turn around. I knocked on the door, the guard opened it, and I walked out into the bright, clean light of the hallway, leaving Arthur and my past behind forever.
