Chapter 5 - The UnravelingZ
The room seemed to tilt.
"Detective Miller?" I breathed, staring at the man who had sat in my family’s living room ten years ago, drinking my mother’s tea while telling us there was "insufficient evidence" to pursue who had destroyed my father's life. "What are you doing here?"
Miller didn't look at me. His eyes were fixed on Marcus, and for the first time tonight, Marcus looked genuinely terrified.
"I’m here because a federal subpoena was issued two hours ago, Leah," Miller said, his tone dry and methodical. "And because someone anonymously turned over a server image from 2015 that was wiped from your father's office."
Chloe gasped, pushing her chair back and standing up so fast her glass spilled red wine across the white tablecloth. "Marcus, what is he talking about? You said this was all taken care of!"
"Shut your mouth, Chloe!" Marcus roared, his eyes darting wildly toward the exit doors of the ballroom.
"Don't even think about running, Marcus," Miller said, taking a step closer. "The hall is surrounded by state troopers. You, Chad Montgomery, and three former board members of Montgomery Development are being named in an indictment for wire fraud, evidence tampering, and conspiracy."
The entire ballroom had gone completely silent. The jazz band had stopped playing. A hundred former classmates were staring at Table Four, their phones held high in the air, recording every second of the breakdown.
"This is ridiculous!" Marcus shouted, his voice cracking with hysteria. "You have no proof I had anything to do with that server!"
"We have the flash drive, Marcus," Miller replied quietly. "The one Chad Montgomery dropped into your car the night your uncle's business fell apart. Betty Montgomery turned it in to the District Attorney's office at four o'clock this afternoon."
My head snapped around. Betty.
That was why she was crying in the bathroom. That was why she looked at me like she had seen a ghost. She hadn't just been confronted by her past cruelty—she had spent the last few hours destroying her husband’s life to protect her daughter from becoming like him.
"That bitch..." Marcus whispered, his blood running cold. "She promised..."
"She promised to keep your secrets as long as Chad didn't hurt her," Miller interrupted. "Turns out, Chad broke that promise a long time ago. And today, she decided she was done protecting the men who ruined this town."
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the front lobby.
Everyone turned just in time to see Chad Montgomery being led through the double doors in handcuffs by two uniformed State Troopers. His hair was disheveled, his suit jacket was torn, and he was screaming obscenities at a woman standing near the door.
It was Betty.
She stood by the entrance, her face washed clean of makeup, holding her nine-year-old daughter, Layla, tightly against her side. Layla had her face hidden in her mother's coat, but Betty stood straight, watching Chad get dragged away with an expression of cold, unwavering finality.
Chad saw Marcus standing with the detective and yelled, "He told me to do it! Marcus paid me twenty thousand dollars to drop that drive in Leah's bag! He said she was too stupid to notice!"
The ballroom erupted into gasps.
Marcus lunged across the table toward Chad, but Andrew moved faster. Andrew slammed his hand onto Marcus's chest, shoving him back into his seat with a force that rattled the dishes. "Sit down," Andrew growled.
Detective Miller stepped in, pulled Marcus's arms behind his back, and clicked a pair of heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists.
"Marcus Vance, you are under arrest," Miller read his rights in a flat tone as he pulled him toward the exit.
As Marcus was dragged past me, he stopped. His face was twisted in rage and defeat. "You think you're better than us now, Leah?" he hissed, spit flying from his lips. "You lost the weight, you got a rich guy, but you're still that fat, pathetic girl who let everybody walk all over her! You ruined my family!"
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I didn't flinch. I didn't step back. I looked Marcus dead in the eye, feeling every piece of fear I had carried for ten years burn away into ash.
"My family was already destroyed, Marcus," I said softly, so only he could hear. "I'm just here to collect the wreckage."
