Chapter 8 - The Reckoning
The conference room descended into utter chaos.
“Arthur! Do something!” Bethany shrieked, grabbing her brother’s arm wildly. “Fix this! Tell them it’s illegal to record us!”
“It was recorded in a open room with twenty people present where there is no legal expectation of privacy under California law!” Uncle Arthur yelled back at his sister, his face turning bright red with anger. “You lied to me! You signed sworn statements claiming the child fell! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve committed felony perjury!”
“Seth! Say something!” her father roared, turning his rage onto his favored son. “You told us you didn't hit her!”
“I didn't think she had proof!” Seth screamed back, his corporate demeanor entirely shattered as he panicked like a cornered animal. “You guys told me to stick to the story!”
“You brought this into my law firm!” Uncle Arthur slammed his heavy folder shut, staring at Bethany with pure disgust. “I am removing myself as your counsel effective immediately! If I stay on this case, I risk my own legal license for suborning perjury!”
Kallie picked up her laptop, placing it neatly into her leather bag. She looked at her family—the people who had spent her entire life making her feel small, crazy, and insignificant, the people who had stood by and watched a child be struck in anger without batting an eye.
“Kallie, please!” Megan sobbed, running around the table to grab Kallie’s sleeve. “Think about my kids! If I get charged with perjury, I could lose my teaching license!”
Kallie pulled her arm out of Megan’s grip with cold, unyielding precision.
“You should have thought about my child when you stood in that hallway and lied for a bully,” Kallie said softly.
As Kallie stepped toward the double doors of the law office, the heavy frosted glass doors swung open from the outside.
Two plainclothes detectives flanked by two uniformed SDPD officers walked into the lobby.
Detective Morales stepped forward, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt. “Seth Vance?”
Seth backed away toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, his hands shaking hysterically. “No! Wait! It was an accident! I didn't mean it!”
“Seth Vance, you are under arrest for misdemeanor child abuse and felony perjury,” Detective Morales announced clearly, grabbing Seth’s arm, twisting it behind his back, and snapping the cold metal cuff around his wrist.
“Mom! Dad! Help me!” Seth wailed as he was forced to his knees in the middle of the sleek legal lobby.
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Bethany collapsed into a chair, sobbing uncontrollably as her precious son was paraded out of the high-rise in handcuffs in front of dozens of legal partners and corporate executives.
Kallie didn't watch the arrest. She walked past the officers, pushed the elevator button, and stepped inside, watching the heavy metal doors slide shut on her old life forever.
