Chapter 5 - The Collapse
The police arrived at the office minutes later. The scene was pure chaos. Eleanor, the woman who had lived in the finest homes and worn the finest silks, was led out in handcuffs. She didn't scream. She didn't cry. She just stared at me with a hatred so profound it felt like a physical blow.
“I made you!” she hissed as they pulled her past the elevator. “You were nothing before me!”
“I was a man,” I said quietly. “You made me a fool. That was your final mistake.”
Harper, hearing of the arrest, tried to run. She attempted to flee to the airport, but my private security had her intercepted before she even reached the terminal. She was caught with a bag full of cash and a falsified passport.
Preston arrived at the office just as the police were pulling away. He saw his mother in the back of the cruiser. He saw me, standing in the lobby, looking older than I had ever felt.
“Dad?” he asked, his voice trembling. “What is going on?”
I took him to my office and sat him down. I told him everything. I showed him the footage. I didn't sugarcoat it. I watched his face shift from confusion to heartbreak, and finally, to a grim, steely resolve.
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“She’s pregnant, Dad,” he whispered, his head in his hands.
“We’ll get a DNA test, Preston,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “If it’s yours, we will be there for the child. But that woman—and your mother—are no longer part of our life.”
