Chapter 5 - The Walls Close In
The fallout from the gala was instantaneous and catastrophic.
By midnight, the video of the assault had gone viral across every major social media platform worldwide. Millions of people watched the horrific footage of the wealthy Mercer family torturing the woman who had built their fortune.
The hashtag #JusticeForClaire trended number one globally within four hours.
Evan and Diane couldn't even return to their hotel. A crowd of angry protestors and news reporters had gathered in the lobby, screaming for their arrest. They were forced to sit in a rented sedan in a dark alley behind a twenty-four-hour diner, terrified to turn on the headlights.
Inside the car, the air was thick with panic and bile.
"You ruined us!" Evan screamed at his mother, slamming his hands against the steering wheel. "It was your idea to go to the house! You told me she would sign the documents if we scared her!"
"Don't you dare blame me, Evan!" Diane shrieked back, her eyes wild with hysteria. "You stood there and watched! You smiled! You were the one who stepped on her phone!"
"Quiet! Both of you!" Richard yelled from the backseat, his chest heaving as he gripped his arm. "My chest... it hurts... Evan, call an ambulance..."
"With what phone, Dad?!" Evan yelled back. "My service was shut off an hour ago because the bank canceled my card! We don't have any money left!"
Just then, three heavy black SUVs pulled into the alleyway, their high-beam headlights blinding the interior of Evan’s sedan.
The doors of the SUVs opened, and ten armed officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, alongside state troopers, stepped out into the rain.
An officer with a bullhorn stepped forward.
"Evan Mercer! Diane Mercer! Richard Mercer! Step out of the vehicle with your hands above your head!"
Evan stared into the blinding lights. "No... no, no, no..."
The officers didn't wait. They moved in with practiced speed, wrenching the car doors open, pulling Evan and Diane out into the cold rain, slamming them face-first against the wet pavement.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
The heavy steel handcuffs clicked tightly around Evan’s wrists.
"Evan Mercer, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, aggravated assault, extortion, and corporate fraud," the lead agent read cold legal terms over the sound of the falling rain.
As Evan was lifted off the wet asphalt, he looked up and saw a sleek black limousine parked at the end of the alley.
The tinted rear window rolled down halfway.
I sat inside the warm, leather-scented interior, holding a cup of hot tea. I looked down at him through the rain-streaked glass—calm, serene, and completely untouchable.
"Claire!" Evan screamed, fighting against the grip of two heavy federal agents. "Claire! Please! Tell them it was a mistake! I love you! I’ve always loved you! It was my parents! They forced me!"
I took a slow sip of my tea.
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I didn't say a single word.
I simply pressed the button, and the dark tinted window rolled back up, sealing him out in the cold, dark rain where he belonged.
