Chapter 3 - The Hospital and the War Room
The sterile smell of the hospital room was a welcome relief from the lemon cleaner and bourbon of the mansion. Sarah lay in the adjustable bed, her right leg encased in a heavy cast. The surgery to repair her fractured tibia had taken three hours, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the profound, overwhelming sense of relief.
Emma was asleep on a small cot in the corner, wrapped in a fluffy hospital blanket, her thumb tucked securely in her mouth.
Arthur sat in a chair beside Sarah’s bed, a sleek leather folder open on his lap. He looked tired, the lines on his face deeper than usual, but his eyes burned with a cold, administrative fury.
"The doctor says you’ll walk fine, Sarah. It will take time, therapy, but you will heal," Arthur said, his voice soft so as not to wake his granddaughter.
"And David?" Sarah asked, her voice raspy.
"His lawyer posted bail three hours ago. Margaret pulled some strings with an old judge friend of theirs," Arthur replied, his jaw tightening. "But he is legally barred from coming within five hundred yards of you, Emma, or this hospital. My security team is stationed at the door, and outside Emma's school."
Sarah closed her eyes, a tear escaping down her cheek. "He took the inheritance, Dad. The transfer went through. All of it. Ten million dollars."
Arthur reached out and covered her hand with his. "That money was protected by a trust I built to be impenetrable, Sarah. The only way he could have moved it is if you signed a power of attorney, or if someone on the inside helped him bypass the security protocols."
"I never signed anything," Sarah said fiercely. "I didn't even know he knew the account existed until the alert flashed on my phone."
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Arthur slowly opened the leather folder, revealing a stack of printed bank documents. "Then he forged your signature. And he had help. The First Meridian Bank manager who approved the transfer is David’s college roommate, Julian Vance. They thought they were clever. They thought they could tie you up in court for years while they bled the accounts dry."
Arthur's lips curved into a cold, dangerous smile. "They don't know who they're playing with. I spent fifty years building my firm. I didn't do it by letting thieves slide."
