Chapter 8 - The Confrontation
The police cars skidded to a halt on the gravel driveway, their blue and red lights flashing against the side of the metal shop.
Two state troopers stepped out, followed immediately by a sleek black sedan.
Elise climbed out of the passenger side of the sedan, holding a sealed white envelope with the seal of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania stamped on the front.
"Graham Voss!" Elise shouted, walking up the driveway with absolute confidence. "You've been formally served with an emergency injunction from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. All assets of Northstar Fabrication are frozen, and a temporary restraining order has been issued against you!"
Voss took a step back, looking around at the state troopers who were moving to encircle the area.
"This is a mistake," Voss said quickly, pulling out his smartphone. "I need to call my attorney."
"Your attorney is currently being interviewed by the Attorney General's office in Harrisburg," Marcus Vance said, stepping out of the black sedan behind Elise. "We submitted the hospital audio files and the transfer records to the fraud division two hours ago. They've already issued a search warrant for your corporate offices."
Voss's phone began ringing frantically. He looked at the screen, saw the caller ID, and slowly let his arm drop to his side.
The smooth, arrogant man who had unplugged my husband's computer two days ago was suddenly shrinking right before my eyes.
"Mrs. Whitcomb," one of the state troopers said, turning to Bernice. "We have an arrest warrant for Graham Voss for extortion and forgery. We also need you to come to the station to give a formal statement regarding the signing of the August 19th transfer deed."
Bernice looked at the handcuffs hanging from the trooper's belt. Her knees buckled, and she stumbled backward.
I reached out instantly and caught her under her arms before she hit the ground.
She felt weightless, like a dry leaf.
"I'm sorry, Laurel," Bernice sobbed, clutching my coat sleeve with her fragile, liver-spotted hands. "I'm so sorry. I was jealous of you... I was jealous because he loved you more than he ever listened to me. I let that man trick me because I wanted to feel important again."
I looked down at the woman who had slapped me across the face forty-eight hours ago, the woman who had kicked me out of my home while my husband was barely in the ground.
I felt no satisfaction in her defeat. Only a profound, aching sadness for the waste of it all.
"We'll go to the station together, Bernice," I said softly, helping her stand upright. "For Grant."
As the state troopers led Graham Voss away in handcuffs, he turned and looked back at me one last time.
"You won't survive the corporate suit, Laurel!" Voss spat out bitterly. "Global Industrial will crush you in court! You don't have the capital to manufacture the Whitcomb Lock on a commercial scale!"
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"We don't need Global Industrial," Elise called back to him, holding her laptop high. "We just signed a joint-venture partnership with Pennsylvania Precision Engineering. They're funding our first production line, and Mom is the CEO."
Voss was shoved into the back of the police cruiser, the door slamming shut behind him, cutting off his voice forever.
