Chapter 6 - The Fall of Apex
Vanessa shrieked as her husband abandoned her, turning back to me with wide, terrified eyes.
“Claire! What did you do?” she wailed, grabbing my arm. “He’s going to go to prison! They’re going to take our house! They’re going to take my cars!”
“Then I suggest you start packing, Vanessa,” I said, shaking her hand off my arm with absolute disgust. “Because by the end of the week, Apex Precision will be seized by federal marshals.”
My father stepped between us, his face contorted in pure rage, his hand raised as if he wanted to strike me.
“You evil, cold-hearted monster!” my father screamed, his voice shaking the walls. “She is your sister! How can you be so cruel? You’re ruining her life over a funeral!”
I looked my father dead in the eyes, never stepping back, never blinking.
“I am not ruining her life,” I said softly. “Her husband’s greed ruined her life. Your enablement ruined her life. I am simply letting the world hold you accountable.”
“We are your parents!” my mother cried out, stepping beside my father, tears running down her cheeks. “You owe us respect! We raised you!”
“You raised me to be practical,” I replied quietly. “And practically speaking, you no longer have a second daughter.”
I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and tapped the screen once.
Within five seconds, two heavy black SUVs pulled into my driveway. Four uniformed private security officers stepped out and walked swiftly up to my front door.
My chief security officer, a broad-shouldered retired federal agent named Thomas, stepped into the foyer.
“Mrs. Evans?” Thomas asked respectfully. “Is everything all right?”
“Please escort these three people off my property, Thomas,” I instructed calmly. “If they ever set foot on my land again, have them arrested for criminal trespass.”
“You’re throwing your own parents out?” my father yelled as Thomas firmly took his arm, guiding him toward the door. “You will burn in hell for this, Claire! You hear me? You are no daughter of mine!”
“I stopped being your daughter six months ago, Dad,” I said quietly as the door began to close. “At 3:17 in the afternoon.”
The door shut with a solid, heavy thud.
May you like
I stood alone in my foyer once again. The house was quiet. The air was still.
For the first time in six months, I walked over to the hallway mirror. I looked at my reflection. The hollow, lifeless look in my eyes was gone. In its place was something strong, clean, and unbreakable.
