Chapter 14 - DANIEL'S BREAKDOWN
Down the hall in the adjacent holding unit,
Daniel paced frantically inside a small holding cell.
His university tweed jacket was wrinkled,
his hair disheveled,
and his eyes bloodshot from days of sleepless panic.
When he saw Richard Sterling walking past the security checkpoint,
Daniel rushed to the steel bars.
“Richard! Richard,
thank God!” Daniel cried out,
grabbing the iron bars with both hands.
“You have to talk to Uncle Arthur,
you have to convince him to post my bail!”
Richard stopped walking,
turning slowly to look at his disgraced cousin with profound disappointment.
“Post your bail,
Daniel?” Richard repeated coldly.
“With what money? Your accounts are frozen,
your tenure is revoked,
and your father disinherited you yesterday morning.
”
“No,
no,
that’s impossible!” Daniel stammered,
shaking the bars in desperation.
“I’m his only son,
I’m the heir to the Sterling estate!”
“Not anymore,
” Richard corrected sharply.
“Arthur signed a revised estate apportionment yesterday afternoon.
”
“Chloe and the family foundation receive everything.
”
“You get a court-appointed public defender and a one-way ticket to federal penitentiary.
”
Daniel dropped to his knees against the cold concrete floor,
sobbing uncontrollably.
“It was Victoria’s idea,
” Daniel wept,
his voice muffled by his hands.
“She trapped me,
she seduced me,
she threatened to ruin my reputation if I didn't help her steal the partnership funds!”
“She told me my wife was dead weight!”
“And you believed her because you were too weak,
too cowardly,
and too greedy to build anything of your own,
” Richard said,
his voice hard as steel.
“You traded a brilliant,
successful architect who built your comfortable life for a manipulative gold digger.
”
“Enjoy the bed you made,
Daniel.
”
Richard turned on his heel and walked down the brightly lit corridor,
leaving Daniel alone in the dark cell.
May you like
The sound of Daniel’s muffled sobs echoed down the concrete hallway,
fading into absolute silence.
