Chapter 16 - The Arrest at the Office
The hammer finally fell on Thursday afternoon.
I was at my small woodworking shop across town, sanding down the edges of a custom oak bookshelf I was building for the local library, when my phone buzzed with an incoming text from Marcus Vance, my lawyer: *Federal warrants executed an hour ago. Kevin and Courtney are in custody. Federal holding facility downtown. It's over, Heath.*
I set the sanding block down on the workbench, wiped the fine sawdust from my hands, and walked out to the front window. Across the snowy street, a black SUV sat idling near the corner. I didn't feel a rush of triumphant adrenaline. I didn't feel anger, or satisfaction, or petty joy. I just felt an overwhelming, profound sense of relief.
The lies that had propped up my brother's golden-boy status for thirty years had finally burned away, leaving nothing behind but the cold, hard truth.
My phone rang almost immediately—another call from an unknown number. I swiped to answer.
"Heath?"
It was Kevin. His voice sounded hollow, stripped of its usual arrogant swagger, trembling with a pathetic, desperate vulnerability.
"I'm here, Kevin," I said calmly.
"They... they took us, Heath. Courtney is having a panic attack in holding. They won't let her use her phone. Mom and Dad won't answer our calls. You're... you're the only person we know who has a lawyer who understands this stuff. Can you please talk to Marcus? Can you help us post bail?"
I closed my eyes for a moment, listening to the muffled sounds of a concrete holding facility echoing in the background of his call.
"Kevin, do you remember what you said to me outside the storage unit last week?" I asked, my voice completely steady.
Silence hung on the line for several long seconds.
"You told me that if I didn't drop the defense and let Courtney win, you would ruin me," I continued quietly. "You told me that my daughter's feelings didn't matter, that truth didn't matter, and that family was just a tool for cover-ups."
"Heath, I was just angry—"
"No, Kevin. You weren't just angry. You were showing me exactly who you've always been." I took a deep breath, looking out the window toward the snow-covered street. "I'm not going to help you post bail, Kevin. I'm not going to call Marcus. You made your bed. Now you get to lie in it."
"Heath, wait, please—!"
May you like
I tapped the red end-call button, silencing his frantic voice forever. Then, without a second thought, I blocked his number, blocked Courtney's number, and tossed my phone onto the workbench.
***
