PART 5: The Collapse of an Empire
The glass pitcher shattered against the wall inches from my face, sending shards raining down onto the carpet. Several pieces grazed my cheek, drawing a thin line of crimson blood.
"You won't ruin me!" Agatha screamed, lunging across the table like a cornered animal, her fingernails clawing at the air toward my face. "I'll kill you! I'll destroy all of you!"
Before she could reach me, the two security guards Bruce brought with him stepped forward, pinning Agatha’s arms behind her back and forcing her back into her chair. She thrashed and cursed, foaming at the mouth like a madwoman, her regal facade completely shattered.
Captain Vance stood frozen, staring at the woman who had just exposed his own corrupt involvement. As reality crashed down on him, he pulled his phone from his pocket, his hands trembling violently.
"This is Captain Vance," he spoke into the phone, his voice hollow. "Dispatch a unit to the Crestview Foundation executive floor. We have an active arrest for embezzlement, fraud, and assault."
Agatha stopped thrashing. Her eyes widened in absolute disbelief as she looked at the man she thought she owned.
"Thomas, you can't arrest me! I made you! I put you in that uniform!" she shrieked, her voice cracking.
"Shut up, Agatha," Vance whispered, turning his back on her.
Bruce didn't blink. He pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and gently dabbed the small cut on my cheek, his touch surprisingly tender for a man of such immense power and cold reputation.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly, ignoring the chaos erupting around us.
"I'm... I'm okay," I breathed, looking up into his dark, steady eyes. For the first time in six years, the heavy weight pressing down on my chest was gone. The monster who had terrorized my daughters and me was finally powerless.
Within ten minutes, two fresh squads of California State Police arrived. They didn't hesitate; they slapped steel handcuffs onto Agatha’s wrists and read her her Miranda rights as she screamed curses at the ceiling, swearing she would own them all before the week was out. Her high-priced attorneys quietly packed their briefcases and slipped out of the boardroom without saying a word, abandoning their sinking ship.
As the officers led Agatha away, she stopped at the doorway and turned her head back, her eyes locking onto mine with a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.
"You think you've won, Gabrielle?" she spat, her voice raspy. "David left behind more than just money. You'll find out what he hid in that house, and when you do, it will destroy you just like it destroyed him."
Then, she was pulled out into the hallway, the heavy oak doors closing behind her with a definitive thud.
The boardroom fell into a profound, suffocating silence.
Bruce turned to me, his brow furrowing as he processed Agatha’s final warning. "What did she mean by that? What did David hide?"
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I shook my head slowly, feeling a cold shiver run down my spine. "I... I don't know. David and I lived in a small apartment before he died. We didn't have anything. When he died, Agatha cleaned out our place before I even got back from the hospital."
"Then there's only one way to find out," Bruce said, his eyes darkening with determination. "We're going to David's old apartment."
