Chapter 5 - The Retaliation
The weeks following the boardroom coup were brutal. My mother called me dozens of times, weeping into the phone, begging me to speak to Grandpa to reverse the decision.
"Your father can't look the neighbors in the eye, Ethan!" she cried during one late-night call. "Claire’s car was repossessed yesterday because the company account was frozen. We are falling apart here!"
"You weren't falling apart, Mom. You were living off my back," I said, my voice steady despite the pain in my heart. "You chose your side when you lied to me about my trust fund. Goodbye, Mom."
But the drama reached its peak a week before Christmas. I was working late in my new office at the firm when the door burst open. It wasn't Dad or Mom. It was Marcus, Claire’s toxic ex-husband, accompanied by two imposing men in leather jackets.
"So, you're the little golden boy who cut off the gravy train," Marcus sneered, walking up to my desk and leaning over it. He smelled of cheap whiskey and cigarettes. "Your dad owed me money, Ethan. Claire promised me that the payments would keep coming if I let her see the kids on weekends. Now, suddenly, the accounts are dry."
I didn't flinch. Working with Grandpa had given me a newfound backbone. I reached under the desk and quietly pressed the silent security alarm. "You don't have a dime coming to you from this family, Marcus. Get out of my office before I have you arrested for trespassing."
One of the men behind Marcus stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Listen here, kid—"
Before he could finish, the office door was thrown wide open. Marcus turned around, only to be met by Grandpa Arthur, flanked by three uniformed police officers and our head of corporate security.
"I expected you’d show your ugly face here eventually, Marcus," Grandpa said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Officers, this is the man I filed the extortion report against this morning. He’s been threatening my family and using blackmail to extract funds from my son’s bank accounts."
Marcus’s face drained of color as the officers immediately grabbed his arms, forcing him to the ground and clicking handcuffs onto his wrists. "Claire told me it was fine! Richard gave me the money willingly!" Marcus screamed as he was dragged down the hallway.
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"They will be answering to the authorities too, Marcus," Grandpa called out coldly.
Turning to me, Grandpa walked over and placed a heavy, reassuring hand on my shoulder. "You handled yourself well, Ethan. But the final piece of the puzzle needs to be put in place. It's time for a final confrontation at the house."
