Part 3: The Broken Ledger
My father slammed his whiskey glass onto a mahogany side table, the expensive crystal shattering into pieces.
"You think you're a detective because you wear a uniform?" Richard hissed, his face twisting in rage. "I built this family! Every dollar you used to buy Emily that engagement ring came from the contracts I signed!"
"The contracts you signed with foreign shell companies while I was deployed in a combat zone," I countered, stepping into his space until he was forced to look up into my eyes. "You used my security clearance to authorize shipping manifests through the military port in Wilmington. You told the board I was overseeing the logistics."
"Jacob, please," my mother pleaded, her voice trembling. "Think about our reputation. If the papers get hold of this—"
"You put a four-month-old baby out in a blizzard to protect your reputation!" I shouted, the fury finally breaking through my military discipline. "You threw Emily out because she found the offshore account statements in your desk yesterday morning. She wasn't trying to steal company papers, Mom. She was trying to find out why our personal bank accounts were suddenly showing a negative balance."
The sound of car tires crunching over heavy snow sounded outside the front door.
Bright red and blue lights began to flash through the frosted glass of the entrance, illuminating the dark marble floor in alternating streaks of crimson and azure.
"I didn't call 911 from my cell phone, Dad," I whispered, watching his eyes dart frantically toward the locked doors. "Before I walked the last few hundred yards to this house, I activated my military beacon. The state police are here for a welfare check on a deployed soldier's dependents."
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My father reached into his pocket, his fingers trembling as he tried to find the remote to deactivate the isolation grid.
"It won't work," I told him. "The moment the signal jammed, the system automatically routed an emergency breach alert to the county sheriff's department. You locked yourselves in a cage with the evidence."
