Chapter 8 - The Midnight PanicThe news of the final indictments hit the front pages of every financial paper in New York by midnight. Mercer Empire Completely Dissolved: All Key Members Under Federal Indictment.
I stood on the balcony of my father's estate, watching the rain slide down the glass, a warm mug of tea in my hands. The city skyline was bright and beautiful, reflecting a peace I hadn't felt in years.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was an restricted number, but I answered anyway.
"Claire..." a broken, raspy voice whispered through the line. It was Daniel, calling from a payphone near the county jail.
"Daniel," I said, my voice completely flat and cold.
"Please... you have to help me," he begged, his voice shaking with a raw, desperate panic. "The federal prosecutors are offering a plea deal. They say if I sign over the final corporate rights to your father's firm, they’ll reduce the charges against my mother. Claire, please. I’m sorry. I was a coward. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don't let them lock her up forever."
"You stood in that ballroom and watched your mother and sister assault your pregnant wife, Daniel," I said, my voice dropping into a register that made the line go completely silent. "You told me we could 'fix it later'. Well, 'later' is here. And this is how we fix it."
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"Claire, please!" he cried out, a pathetic, desperate attempt to manipulate me one last time.
"Sign the papers, Daniel," I whispered, and pressed the red button, cutting off his frantic, weeping voice. The monster had been caged, and the ledger was finally balanced.
