Chapter 5 - The Snake in the Grass
Curtis tried to stand up, his face twisted in a mixture of panic and rage. "This is a setup! You can't just bring military officers in here to audit my company! Titan Tactical is my company!"
"Sit down, Mr. Wright," Judge Thornton warned, her hand resting near her gavel.
"Actually, Mr. Wright," General Carney said, his voice dangerously calm, "it is a defense contracting company. Which means it falls under federal jurisdiction when national security is compromised. And you have compromised it significantly."
My attorney, David, finally found his voice. "Your Honor, the defense moves to dismiss all charges of fraud, stolen valor, and forgery against Major Victoria Wright with prejudice."
"Granted," Judge Thornton said immediately, not even hesitating. "The criminal charges against Major Wright are dismissed with prejudice. Furthermore, this court is freezing all assets associated with the estate of Arthur Wright pending a full investigation into the validity of the second will presented by Curtis Wright."
"You can't do that!" Curtis screamed, pointing a shaking finger at me. "She’s ruining this family! She’s always ruined everything! She was gone for twelve years while I stayed here and built this company with Dad!"
"You didn't build anything, Curtis," I said, speaking for the first time in minutes. I stepped out from behind the defense table and walked toward him. "You stole from him. You and Elaine."
I stopped a few feet away from my brother. He looked smaller now. The arrogant, wealthy heir was shrinking back into the insecure boy who had always resented my accomplishments.
"Dad knew you were siphoning money through shell vendors," I said, my voice cold and steady. "He told me before he died. He named me executor because he knew if he left the company to you, Titan Tactical would be bankrupt within a year, and our employees would be out on the street. You forged that second will, Curtis. And you used our mother’s hatred of my military career to paint me as a fraud so no one would believe me when I pointed out your crimes."
"That's a lie!" Elaine cried out from the gallery, though her voice lacked any of its former strength. "Arthur loved Curtis! He wanted Curtis to have the company!"
"Arthur Wright loved his country," General Carney said, turning to Elaine. "And he loved his daughter. He was the one who personally requested that I oversee the unsealing of Victoria's records today. He knew what you two were planning. He wrote to me three weeks before his passing."
Carney reached into his pocket and pulled out a sealed, certified letter bearing my father’s signature and notary stamp.
"He knew he wouldn't live to see this day," Carney said softly, looking at me. "But he made sure his daughter would have the backup she needed."
I felt a sudden tightness in my throat. My father had been dying, gasping for his final breaths, yet his final acts had been to protect me.
Curtis looked around the courtroom, realizing that the tide had not just turned; a tidal wave had entirely swallowed him. The reporters were filming him, the jurors were looking at him with disgust, and the two military police officers behind General Carney were slowly moving to flank him.
"This isn't over," Curtis hissed, backing away. "You have no proof of a forgery! The signature on that second will was authenticated by a handwriting expert!"
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"An expert you paid fifty thousand dollars through an offshore account in the Caymans," David Miller chimed in, holding up a fresh stack of financial documents that General Carney's aide had just passed to him. "The transaction cleared four days ago, Curtis. We have the bank routing numbers."
Curtis went completely still.
