Chapter 8: The Day Their Story Broke
Sienna reached her father’s house with Naomi and the officers minutes later.
Christian stood beside his car while another officer examined the broken porch light.
Her father opened the door.
“He never got inside.”
Christian raised both hands.
“I came to talk.”
“You threatened him,” Sienna said.
“I warned him that your accusations would destroy the family.”
Her father stepped onto the porch.
“A family does not require one woman to finance everyone’s lies.”
Christian turned to Sienna.
“Tell them this is a misunderstanding.
I can still fix the loans.”
“With what money?”
“Restore my account access, withdraw the fraud complaint, and testify that you authorized Desert Crown.”
Naomi stared at him.
“You are proposing another fraud in front of officers.”
Christian’s voice rose.
“That money was marital property!”
“The forged deed wasn’t,” Sienna replied.
“Neither was my work password.”
Gwen’s car raced around the corner and stopped crookedly at the curb.
She jumped out holding Marisol’s laptop.
Marisol, who had followed with Marcus, pointed at it.
“That’s mine!”
Gwen lifted the laptop above the pavement.
“Withdraw everything, Sienna, or this is gone.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“Put it down.”
“No!
Those records belong to my company.”
Sienna held Gwen’s gaze.
“You said Christian managed everything.
Now it’s your company?”
Gwen looked at her son.
Christian looked away.
Tessa arrived behind Marcus and raised her phone.
“I’m recording, Mother.”
“You betrayed your own family,” Gwen spat.
“No.
I stopped helping you betray Sienna.”
Gwen tried to open the laptop, but Marisol called out, “It requires my fingerprint.”
The screen locked.
Christian moved toward the car.
One officer blocked him.
Gwen’s arm dropped.
“Sienna, make a deal.
You can have the condo.
I’ll even repay part of the allowance.”
“Part of it?”
“You gave that money willingly.”
“I gave you support.
You used it to build a company in my name and frame me.”
Christian pointed at Gwen.
“This was her idea.
She said Sienna owed us because I gave up my career for the marriage.”
Gwen stared at him.
“You begged me to help you hide the gambling losses.”
Tessa’s phone captured every word.
Christian stepped toward his mother.
“Be quiet.”
“You put my name on everything!”
“And you spent every dollar!”
Their accusations collided until Marcus raised his voice.
“That’s enough.
Put the laptop on the hood of the car.”
Gwen obeyed.
Marcus opened it with Marisol’s help and connected a secure drive.
“Here are the property files,” Marisol said.
“And this folder contains the original signatures they copied.”
Naomi pointed to another folder.
“What is ‘Exit’?”
Marisol opened it.
Two airline tickets appeared—one for Christian and one for Gwen—scheduled for the following morning.
A transfer order showed $240,000 moving to an overseas account that night.
Christian turned toward his car.
The officer closed a hand around his arm.
“Stay where you are.”
Gwen’s face collapsed.
“Christian, you said we were only going away until this settled.”
He said nothing.
“You were taking me with you, weren’t you?”
Marcus enlarged the transfer order.
The overseas account had only one beneficiary.
Christian Hale.
Gwen looked at her son as if she had never seen him before.
“You planned to leave me with the debt.”
Christian’s hands were secured behind him.
“You taught me to protect myself.”
An officer approached Gwen.
She backed away and looked at Sienna.
“After everything I did for you, this is how you repay me?”
Sienna touched the faint cut on her lip.
“No, Gwen.
This is the first bill you are paying yourself.”
As the officer led her toward the second car, Gwen twisted around.
“You’ll always be alone, Sienna.
Money is the only reason anyone stayed.”
May you like
Sienna’s father took his daughter’s hand in full view of her.
The car door closed on Gwen’s final word.
