Chapter 7 - The Breakdown of the Council
The pressure inside the family was now so intense that the walls of their unified defense were beginning to crumble.
According to our intercepts, Arthur Whitaker had spent the last twelve hours locked in his study, drinking heavily, while his sister Eleanor screamed at him over the speakerphone, blaming his sons for ruining the family’s legacy.
"They're going to prison, Arthur!" Eleanor was sobbing, her voice raspy from hours of panic. "Your stupid, arrogant sons have destroyed everything our father built! The foundation is gone! The bank is taking my house! We’re going to be ruined because you couldn't control those boys!"
"Shut up, Eleanor!" Arthur roared back, his voice thick with alcohol and terror. "I didn't know Julian was buying drugs! I didn't know Garrett was beating his girls! I was just trying to run the business!"
"And what about Denise?" Eleanor spat. "She’s the one who brought that white-trash girl into our house! She’s the one who let them beat her on our patio! This is her fault! We should have never let her into this family!"
In the background of the call, we heard the sound of glass breaking, followed by Denise’s high-pitched screams as she fought with her husband.
"I didn't do anything!" Denise was screaming. "You're the ones who wanted to show John Vance that we were stronger than him! You're the ones who told the boys to put her in her place!"
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"We have it all on tape, John," Patel said, his fingers tapping his keyboard to save the audio file. "It’s a complete admission of guilt from both of them. They’re admitting to conspiracy, knowledge of the assault, and intentional escalation."
"Print the transcript," I said, my voice cold. "Send it to Arthur Pendelton. We have our final deposition tomorrow morning, and I want to make sure he has every word of this conversation memorized."
