Chapter 5 - The Snake's Last Strike
Two days later, Catherine lay in a luxurious, private suite at the Angeles Metropolitan Hospital. The color had finally returned to her cheeks, thanks to IV fluids, antibiotics, and the best medical care money could buy.
Annie was asleep on a comfortable sofa nearby, wrapped in a clean, warm blanket, a half-eaten plate of fresh fruit on the table beside her.
Victor sat next to Catherine’s bed, his hand tightly holding hers. He hadn't slept in forty-eight hours. He had spent every moment watching over them, terrified that if he closed his eyes, his family would vanish again.
“You look exhausted, Victor,” Catherine said softly, her voice much stronger now. She reached up to trace the tired lines on his face. “Go home and get some rest.”
“This is my home,” Victor said, kissing the palm of her hand. “Wherever you and Annie are. I’m never leaving your side again.”
Suddenly, the door to the suite burst open.
Two police officers walked in, followed closely by Maris Williams. Maris looked disheveled, her expensive hair out of place, but her eyes were filled with venomous determination.
“There he is!” Maris pointed a trembling finger at Victor. “Officers, arrest him! He has kidnapped my granddaughter and is keeping my daughter-in-law here against her will. He has also illegally frozen my bank accounts and stolen corporate funds from the Williams Group!”
Victor stood up slowly, calmly letting go of Catherine’s hand. He stepped in front of the police officers, his face completely expressionless.
“Mrs. Williams,” one of the officers said, looking uneasy. “Are you claiming your son is holding these people hostage?”
“Yes!” Maris hissed, glaring at Catherine. “That woman is unstable. She abandoned my son years ago and has now crawled back to blackmail him. And my son has lost his mind. He’s trying to ruin me!”
Catherine looked at Maris with a mixture of fear and disgust, but this time, she didn't shrink away. She sat up straight. “I am not here against my will, officers. This man is my husband, and his mother is the one who blackmailed, threatened, and robbed us.”
“Quiet, you peasant!” Maris screamed.
“That’s enough, Mother,” Victor said, his voice deadly calm. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a silver USB drive, handing it directly to the lead police officer.
“What is that?” Maris asked, a sudden spike of panic hitting her voice.
“Before I came here, I had my corporate legal team and private security dig through the offshore accounts you set up,” Victor explained, looking directly at his mother. “We found the digital paper trail. Every single dollar of the 1.8 million I sent for Catherine and Annie was transferred from that offshore account directly into your personal shell company. And that's not all.”
Victor stepped closer to her, his eyes cold.
“We also found the security footage from the Grand Oak Plaza’s alleyway from three nights ago. It clearly shows Annie being chased away from the hotel kitchen by your personal security guards on your direct orders. You knew she was starving. You knew she was there. And we found the recorded phone calls between you and the private investigator you hired to threaten Catherine three years ago. It’s all on that drive.”
The police officer plugged the USB drive into his rugged tablet. Within seconds, audio files began to play. Maris’s voice echoed clearly through the hospital room, giving explicit instructions to ruin Catherine’s life and falsify documents.
Maris’s face drained of color. She took a step back, her hands shaking. “Victor... please... I’m your mother. I did it to protect the family name...”
“You destroyed this family,” Victor said. “Officers, I want to press charges. Grand larceny, extortion, child endangerment, and fraud.”
The lead officer looked at Maris, his face stern. “Mrs. Maris Williams, you are under arrest. Please put your hands behind your back.”
“No! You can’t do this to me! Do you know who I am?” Maris screamed as the metal handcuffs clicked around her wrists. She struggled, glaring at Catherine and Victor with absolute hatred as she was dragged out of the hospital room, her screams fading down the corridor.
Silence returned to the room.
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Victor took a deep, shaky breath, feeling a massive weight lift off his shoulders. He turned back to his wife and daughter.
Catherine was crying, but this time, they were tears of pure relief. “It’s over,” she whispered. “It’s finally over.”
