Chapter 4 - Tyler's Ultimatum
Tyler slammed the briefcase onto the foot of Clara’s hospital bed, the metal latches snapping open with a sharp clack. Inside sat stacks of cash and a stack of pre-printed quitclaim deeds for the family home.
“Sign them,” Tyler demanded, his voice cracking with teenage entitlement mixed with raw terror. “Mom says if you sign these papers right now relinquishing all claims to the house and the remaining trust, she’ll tell the cops it was a prank gone wrong. She’ll take the misdemeanor assault charge instead of grand larceny and embezzlement.”
Arthur stood up, towering over the boy. “Get out of here, Tyler. Before I forget you're just a kid.”
“You can’t touch me!” Tyler sneered, grabbing a document. “If you ruin Mom, I’ll drop out of college, spill every dirty secret your firm ever hid to the press, and make sure you go down right beside her. Clara, sign it! Your legs are ruined anyway—what do you need a house for?”
The cruelty of the statement hung in the air like poison. Clara didn't cry. Instead, a cold, sharp smile touched the corners of her lips. She tapped her finger against the call button clipped to her sheet.
“Tyler,” Clara said softly.
“What?”
“Did you check who owns the legal title to this hospital floor?”
Tyler frowned. “What are you talking about?”
The door pushed open again. But it wasn't a nurse. It was Detective Miller from the Financial Crimes Unit, flanked by two uniformed officers.
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“Tyler Winchester?” the detective asked, holding up an arrest warrant. “You’re being arrested as an accessory to wire fraud, money laundering, and extortion. Your mother just tried to pin the entire embezzlement scheme on you to save herself.”
Tyler’s face went chalk white. The briefcase slipped from his hands, spilling thousands of dollars of dirty money across the sterile linoleum floor.
