Chapter 8 - The Sins of David Miller
The room spun. The air seemed to rush out of the room, leaving me gasping for breath.
"What?" I stammered, my hands gripping the edge of the conference table to keep from collapsing. "That’s a lie! David abandoned us! He forged my signature on those loans!"
Arthur leaned forward, tapping the envelope with the silver tip of his cane. "David Miller walked into the precinct yesterday afternoon accompanied by an attorney provided by Vance Capital. He signed a sworn affidavit stating that you helped him falsify the loan applications before he left. He claims you took your share of the cash, staged the abandonment to evade the collectors, and used the proceeds to hide in plain sight until the heat blew over."
"That is a complete fabrication and you know it, Arthur!" James shouted, slamming his hand onto the table, his composure finally breaking. "You paid David to lie! You’re framing her because she exposed your fraud!"
"The District Attorney doesn't care about my motives, James," Arthur replied with a chilling, triumphant smirk. "They care about sworn affidavits, notarized promissory notes bearing her signature, and thirty thousand dollars in cash that was mysteriously deposited into her bank account two days ago."
My blood ran cold. The cashier’s check. James had given me twenty-five thousand dollars on Christmas Eve, which I had deposited to pay my back rent and debts. Arthur had twisted the timing, making it look like the sudden influx of hidden stolen cash.
"Warrants were issued twenty minutes ago," Arthur continued, checking his watch with casual cruelty. "Detectives from the financial crimes division are downstairs in the lobby right now. In about sixty seconds, Miss Miller will be arrested in front of the press corps waiting outside the building."
He turned to the silent board members. "How will it look when the press reports that the heroic CEO of Whitmore Hospitality replaced his executive staff with a convicted fraudster who was siphoning stolen cash through our private payroll?"
"You bastard," James hissed, stepping around the table toward his father, his fists clenched.
"James, don't!" I cried, grabbing his arm. "Don't let him ruin you!"
I looked at the board members. The sympathy they had shown ten minutes ago had completely vanished, replaced by panic and self-preservation. In corporate America, scandal was more lethal than bankruptcy. If I was arrested in James's office, his victory would be completely erased. The board would force him out just to save their stock price.
"I have to go," I whispered, tears blurring my vision. "I have to get Chloe and run."
"You're not running, Grace," James said fiercely, grabbing my face in both of his hands. "If you run, it looks like an admission of guilt! We fight this! I have the best defense attorneys in the country—"
"Attorneys take months, James!" I wept, the reality of my nightmare crashing down. "They will put me in Rikers while they investigate! They will take Chloe and put her in child protective services! She won't survive that! I won't let them take my baby!"
James looked into my eyes, and for the first time since I met him, I saw absolute agony on his face. He knew I was right about the foster system. The wheels of justice turned too slowly to protect a mother without family or millions of dollars to post immediate bail.
"Go to the private service elevator behind my office," James said, his voice shaking with raw emotion. "My driver, Frank, is waiting in the basement loading dock. Take the black SUV. Go to my cabin in the Catskills. Here—"
He ripped a key from his ring and shoved it into my hand, along with his personal black credit card.
"Don't use your phone. Don't use public transit. Frank has Chloe already—I had him pick her up from the hotel the moment Arthur walked into the building. He will get you out of the city."
"James... what about you?" I sobbed. "Your father will destroy you for helping me escape."
James leaned down and kissed me hard on the mouth—a desperate, fierce promise that tasted of salt and defiance.
"Let him try," James whispered against my lips. "I spent my whole life protecting a company that doesn't love me back. Now I’m protecting the only two people who do. Go, Grace. Now!"
I turned and ran.
I burst through the boardroom doors just as the chime of the executive elevators echoed down the hall. Four uniformed NYPD officers and two plainclothes detectives stepped out onto the marble floor.
May you like
"Grace Miller?" one of the detectives called out, spotting me. "Hold it right there!"
I didn't stop. I sprinted toward the maintenance corridor, dove through the heavy steel fire door, and slammed the deadbolt shut behind me.
