Chapter 4 - THE THREAD UNRAVELS
Chloe stared at the document, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
"Emily... you don't understand—" Chloe stammered, stepping back toward the library door.
"Oh, I understand completely," I said, taking a slow step toward her. "For nine years, Mom lied to me. She told me Dad’s pension was gone. She told me they were drowning in debt. She made me feel guilty every single day of my life if I didn't send $4,500 on the first of the month."
"She was just trying to protect my future!" Chloe blurted out, her composure completely shattering. "You were always the smart one, Emily! You got the high-paying tech job! You got the scholarships! I had nothing! Mom was just evening the playing field!"
Grandpa let out an audible sigh of disgust. "Evening the playing field by committing systemic bank fraud, Chloe?"
"It wasn't fraud!" Chloe yelled, tears of anger suddenly brimming in her eyes. "Mom promised me that money! She said Emily didn't need an inheritance because Emily could just work for everything she wanted! I deserve to have a life too!"
"You deserve what you earn, Chloe!" I shouted back, the anger finally bursting through my chest like a floodgate opening. "You lived in luxury off my blood and sweat while I almost died on a highway last night! And when I needed five hours of help to keep my baby safe while I was in a neck brace, Mom threw me away like garbage because she didn't want to miss her boat!"
Chloe looked at me, her eyes hardening into the exact same cold, selfish look our mother always wore.
"Fine!" Chloe spat, crossing her arms tightly. "Cancel the $4,500! See if I care! My condo is already signed in my name! The money is already in my private account! You can't touch it, Emily! It's mine!"
"Is it?" Grandpa Arthur asked mildly.
He pulled a small silver recorder from his pocket, hit stop, and set it on the desk.
"That was a full confession of knowing involvement in an illicit financial scheme," Grandpa said, smiling pleasantly at her. "Marcus Vance from the District Attorney’s Financial Crimes Division is already waiting in the living room with two state troopers."
Chloe froze. Her eyes went wider than I had ever seen them. "What?!"
The library doors swung open.
A tall man in a dark charcoal suit stepped into the room, flanked by two uniformed Massachusetts State Troopers.
"Chloe Reid?" Prosecutor Marcus Vance said, holding up a official folder. "We have a court-ordered emergency freeze on all accounts associated with the Reid Family Trust, including your condo in South Boston and your private accounts at Chase Bank. You are currently named as a person of interest in a grand larceny investigation."
Chloe looked at the troopers, then at the prosecutor, then at Grandpa, and finally at me.
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"Emily... please!" Chloe shrieked, her voice turning high and panicked as a trooper stepped forward with a pair of handcuffs. "Tell them to stop! We're sisters! Mom is going to kill me! Please!"
"Your sister never has emergencies, Chloe," I said quietly, turning my back on her as the troopers escorted her out of the room, her high heels dragging against the floor as she screamed my name all the way down the driveway.
