Chapter 3 - THE ARRESTThe sound of blaring police sirens echoed in the distance, growing louder with every passing second as they swept down our quiet, tree-lined street.
Jack panicked. He lunged across the desk, grabbing my shoulders with white-knuckled desperation. "Megan, please! Stop this! Think about the kids!"
"The kids?" I mocked, knocking his hands off me with a swift, practiced motion. "You brought our children to the airport to watch you cheat on their mother! You taught them that betraying me was a game! You don't care about Leo and Maya, Jack. You care about your ego."
"Jack, do something!" Carol cried, clutching her chest. "Call the police! She's stealing from us!"
"Mom, shut up!" Jack screamed, losing his composure completely. He turned back to me, his eyes wide with horror. "Megan, what did you give Gerald? What did you send to the DA?"
"Everything, Jack," I said, stepping around the desk. "The offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands. The illegal clinical trials on unapproved medical devices. The kickback agreements with Apex Pharmaceuticals. And, of course, the altered autopsy reports from the two patients who died on your table last year."
Jack stumbled backward, hitting the bookshelf. "You... you knew about that?"
"I know everything, Jack," I said softly. "I kept you safe for ten years because I thought you were a good man who made mistakes. But you aren't a good man. You're a parasite."
Heavy footsteps thumped up the front stairs. A voice echoed from the foyer below: "Federal Agents! Dr. Jack Walker, we have a warrant for your arrest!"
Carol shrieked. Ashley burst into hysterical tears.
Four agents from the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services burst into the study, led by a stern woman in a dark suit holding a badge and a stack of arrest warrants.
"Jack Walker," Agent Ramirez announced. "You are under arrest for healthcare fraud, wire fraud, illegal medical experimentation, and grand larceny. You have the right to remain silent..."
"No! This is a mistake! My wife set me up!" Jack screamed as the agents grabbed his arms, forcing him around and slapping heavy steel handcuffs onto his wrists. "Megan! Tell them! Tell them you forged those files!"
I stood silently, my arms crossed, watching the man I had loved get dragged toward the door.
"Megan, please!" Jack begged, his voice breaking into frantic sobs as he was pulled into the hallway. "I love you! I'll break up with Chloe! I'll fire her! We can fix this! Please!"
"You had ten years to fix this, Jack," I said as he was dragged past me. "Your time is up."
Agent Ramirez paused at the door, glancing at me with a respectful nod. "Mrs. Walker—or should I say, Attorney Vance—the District Attorney wants to express his gratitude. Your evidence package was flawless."
"Just doing my civic duty, Agent Ramirez," I replied smoothly.
As Jack was marched down the stairs, Carol turned on me like a rabid animal. "You monster!" she spat, her face red with rage. "You ruined my son! You destroyed our family!"
I turned to face my mother-in-law, stepping close enough that she could see the cold fire in my eyes.
"Carol," I said softly. "You have until six o'clock tonight to pack your bags and leave the condo. At six-fifteen, the locks will be changed, and an eviction crew will clear out whatever you leave behind."
"You can't evict me! That's my home!"
"It was my property," I corrected her. "And as for you, Ashley... your business entity is being liquidated tomorrow morning to pay off the bank default. I suggest you update your resume."
Ashley gasped, clutching her designer handbag as if it were a shield. "You... you're a demon!"
"No," I replied, pointing toward the front door. "I was an angel. But you broke my wings. Now get out of my house before I have the agents arrest you both for accessory to fraud."
They fled. Carol tripped over her own heels on the way down the stairs, cursing my name the entire way, while Ashley scrambled behind her.
When the house finally fell silent, I stood in the middle of the quiet study.
May you like
The battle had begun. But as I picked up my phone to call my children, who were currently being brought back home by my private security team, I knew this was only the first shot.
Because Jack Walker wasn't going to go down without a fight. And he had one final, dangerous card left to play.
