Chapter 7 - The Arrest at Closing Room 2B
The heavy double doors of Closing Room 2B didn't just open; they were violently thrown wide against the drywall.
Eric didn't even have time to cap his silver fountain pen before four armed state police officers and two federal investigators poured into the room, their weapons drawn, their badges gleaming under the bright fluorescent lights.
"Federal agents! Nobody move! Put your hands on the table!" Officer Miller shouted, his voice booming through the small conference room.
Eleanor let out a sharp, piercing shriek, jumping up from her chair and dropping her designer leather purse onto the floor. "What is the meaning of this?! Do you know who we are?! This is a private legal transaction!"
"Shut your mouth and put your hands on the table, ma'am!" a female officer commanded, stepping forward with handcuffs drawn.
Eric’s face went completely ghostly pale. His hands froze mid-air above the newly stamped loan documents. "There... there must be some kind of mistake officer! I'm Eric Sterling! I'm executing a legitimate business credit line!"
"There's no mistake, Eric," a voice echoed from the hallway.
The officers parted ways, creating an aisle down the center of the room.
I stepped through the doorway, flanked by Julian Vance and Evelyn. I wore the same black pantsuit, my arms crossed over my chest, staring down at my husband with an icy, unyielding gaze.
Eric’s jaw dropped. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he stared at me as if he were looking at a ghost returned from the grave.
"C-Clara?!" Eric gasped, his voice cracking violently. "You... you're in Paris! You're supposed to be at the Luxembourg Gardens!"
"I never got on the plane, Eric," I said, my voice smooth, quiet, and terrifyingly calm. "I sneaked back into the house twenty minutes after you gave me that cheap blue box. I was lying on the bathroom floor right above the kitchen while you, your mother, and your family toasted with champagne over how you were going to steal my house."
Eleanor stumbled back against the wall, her eyes darting frantically between me and Julian Vance. "You... you recorded us?"
"I recorded every single word," I said, pulling my smartphone out and tapping the screen.
The room filled with the crystal-clear recording of Eric's voice: “And once Clara lands at Charles de Gaulle, I’ll lock our joint accounts... By the time she gets back, this house won't be an issue.”
"You are under arrest, Eric Sterling, for grand larceny, systemic wire fraud, identity theft, and corporate bank fraud," Investigator Miller announced, grabbing Eric by his shoulders, forcing his hands behind his back, and snapping heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists.
"Clara! Please! Wait!" Eric panicked, struggling against the cuffs, tears suddenly bursting from his eyes. "It wasn't my idea! It was Mother! She made me do it! She said we needed the money for Nebula Systems!"
"You coward!" Eleanor screamed at her son, turning on him like a cornered animal. "You useless, incompetent fool! You couldn't even make sure your own wife was on a plane!"
"Silence!" the female officer barked, forcing Eleanor's hands behind her back as steel cuffs clicked over her manicured wrists as well.
Sarah fell to her knees weeping, while Richard simply collapsed into a chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, knowing his life and his business were utterly annihilated.
I took three slow steps forward, stopping directly in front of Eric.
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I reached down to the table, picked up the forged loan documents, and slowly tore them into four thick pieces right in front of his face. I let the shredded paper fall like snow over his polished dress shoes.
"By the way, Eric," I whispered, leaning in close so only he could hear me. "I filed for divorce at eight o'clock this morning. And I'm taking everything."
