Chapter 13 - Bethany’s Final Betrayal
Agent Bennett shouted for everyone to cover their faces.
Officers forced the side door open.
The gas smelled sharp but did not burn.
A tactical medic identified it quickly.
“It is a sedative.”
Bethany was not trying to kill us.
She wanted everyone unconscious.
She wanted time to reach Ryan’s files.
My mother stumbled toward her.
“You were supposed to wait.”
Bethany shoved her away.
“You were going to blame everything on me.”
My father stared at them.
“What is she talking about?”
Bethany laughed.
“Mom had papers ready.”
“She planned to say I acted alone.”
My mother remained calm.
“You hurt Sophie.”
“You told me to.”
“I told you to frighten her.”
“You said bruises would make the story believable.”
My chest filled with rage.
Agent Bennett grabbed my arm before I could move.
“Let them speak.”
Bethany continued.
“You promised I would control the trust.”
“You promised I would finally have something Daniel could not take.”
I stared at her.
“I never took anything from you.”
“You took everything.”
“What?”
“Mom loved you first.”
The answer was so childish that for a moment I could not understand it.
Bethany’s face twisted with years of resentment.
“You were the good son.”
“You married Emily.”
“You had the perfect child.”
“You got the inheritance.”
“It was Emily’s family’s money.”
“It did not matter.”
“It mattered to you.”
She looked toward the screen showing the returned funds.
“That money was supposed to fix my life.”
“No amount of money could do that.”
She slapped the remote against the table.
The lights flickered.
Ryan Pierce’s face remained on the screen.
“Bethany,” he said.
She looked up.
“You promised me a way out.”
“I promised to expose your mother.”
“You said I could keep part of the money.”
“I lied.”
Bethany screamed and threw the remote.
Then she ran through the side door.
Two officers followed.
The gas thickened.
Judge Voss collapsed.
Dr. Caroline fell beside him.
My father dropped to one knee.
My mother remained standing longer than anyone else.
She looked at me through the haze.
“You could have had everything.”
“I already had everything.”
“You had weakness.”
“I had a family.”
“You chose Emily over us.”
“Yes.”
The word came easily.
I had spent years feeling guilty for disappointing my parents.
Now I understood that disappointing them had been one of the best choices I ever made.
My mother’s knees buckled.
She fell beside the judge.
Officers dragged everyone into the hallway.
Bethany reached the records room before she was caught.
She tried to set the files on fire.
The sprinkler system activated.
Thousands of pages were soaked but saved.
Ryan Pierce disappeared during the evacuation.
He left the building through an underground service tunnel.
But he abandoned the complete ledger.
It contained more than one hundred names.
Eighteen judges.
Nine therapists.
Four police chiefs.
Thirty-two attorneys.
Several accountants.
And dozens of relatives who had paid to gain custody of children tied to valuable assets.
The conspiracy spread across three states.
The news broke before sunrise.
My parents’ names appeared on every television.
The Whitmore Foundation’s offices were raided.
Judge Voss was removed from the bench.
Dr. Caroline’s license was suspended.
Chief Pierce was transferred to federal custody.
Bethany requested a lawyer and blamed my mother.
My father blamed Bethany.
My mother blamed everyone except herself.
For the first time, their loyalty disappeared.
Without a shared victim, they turned on one another.
Sophie was returned to the protected apartment.
I held her until she fell asleep.
Agent Bennett sat across from me.
“We found something in the full ledger.”
“What?”
“An entry made two days before Emily’s death.”
She handed me the page.
My wife’s name appeared beside a payment of one million dollars.
The recipient was listed only by initials.
R.P.
“Ryan Pierce?” I asked.
“Maybe.”
“What was the payment for?”
Bennett pointed to the note beside it.
Transfer child after accident.
I stared at her.
“They planned to take Sophie after Emily died.”
“Yes.”
“Why did they wait eighteen months?”
“Because someone stopped them.”
“Who?”
Bennett looked toward the ledger.
“We think Ryan Pierce took the money.”
“But instead of helping them seize Sophie, he hid the evidence.”
I thought of the message on the flash drive.
Emily made two copies.
Ryan had known.
He may have helped Emily.
He may also have betrayed her.
Then a live message appeared on Bennett’s phone.
Ryan Pierce had sent coordinates.
He wanted to meet me alone.
May you like
The message contained one more line.
I was with Emily after the crash.
