Chapter 7 - The Final Audit
Dad stood up straight, his back rigid, his decision made. He pulled a thick folder from his briefcase, which had been resting on the floor by his chair the entire evening.
“It’s over, Eleanor,” Dad said quietly.
Mom looked at him, terrified. “Arthur, what is that?”
“Divorce papers,” Dad replied, laying them on the table right next to Mark’s bank statements. “And a formal petition to the district attorney regarding the fraud committed against my home equity line. I signed them this morning.”
Mom let out a choked scream. “Arthur! You can’t do this to our family!”
“You destroyed this family five years ago when you covered up a hit-and-run,” Dad said, his voice hard as steel. “I stayed because I thought I could fix it. I stayed because I wanted to protect Claire. But I realize now that by staying silent, I was just letting you rot this house from the inside out.”
Mark stood up and adjusted his suit jacket. “The police are waiting outside, Lauren.”
Lauren’s head snapped toward the front window. Through the sheer curtains, the faint red and blue lights of a silent patrol car swept across the driveway ceiling.
“You called the police on your own wife?!” Lauren shrieked, tears finally bursting from her eyes, but they weren't tears of remorse—they were tears of furious, cornered desperation.
May you like
“I called the police on the woman who committed grand larceny, identity theft, and extortion,” Mark corrected coldly. “The officers are here for the hit-and-run cover-up, the forgery, and the financial fraud.”
Two sharp knocks echoed through the front door, heavy and official.
