Chapter 5
The Unravelling of the Harrison Name
Sloane stood up so fast her chair screeched against the floorboards. "David? What... what are you doing here? This is a private business dinner."
"It was a business dinner," I said, walking around the table toward Richard. The investors looked confused, their eyes shifting from my dress blue uniform to the stained tablecloth. "But unfortunately for you, the business you're conducting is federal bank fraud."
"Now look here, David," one of the older men at the table stood up, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses. "I don't know what kind of family dispute this is, but Richard is the managing partner of Harrison Development—"
"Harrison Development doesn't exist, sir," I interrupted, looking the investor dead in the eye. "It’s a shell company established using a forged power of attorney from a seventy-eight-year-old woman and stolen military payroll. The property you are currently sitting in is an active crime scene."
Amanda’s face twisted into an ugly mask of rage. "You're crazy! Get out of our house! Security! Call the police!"
"You don't need to call them, Amanda," I said, pulling a small remote from my pocket and pressing the button.
The front door didn't just open; it slammed back against the wall as Detective Miller and four uniformed officers stepped into the foyer. Behind them came the state investigators, their clipboards and evidence bags ready.
"Richard Harrison, Sloane Harrison, and Amanda Harrison," Detective Miller announced, his voice booming over the soft jazz music that was still playing from the speakers. "You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit grand larceny, identity theft, forgery, and third-degree domestic assault."
The room erupted into total chaos. The investors scrambled away from the table, trying to find their coats and purses, eager to distance themselves from the sudden collapse of Richard’s empire.
"David, please!" Sloane screamed, running toward me, her hands reaching out to grab the lapels of my dress uniform. "Don't do this to me! Think about my father! Think about what this will do to his reputation!"
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"Your father taught me how to lead men, Sloane," I said, stepping back so her hands fell away into the empty air. "He also taught me that a traitor inside the wire is ten times more dangerous than the enemy outside. You aren't my wife anymore. You're just a suspect."
Richard tried to bolt through the kitchen doors, but Officer Vance was already waiting there, his handcuffs out. Within ten minutes, the grand dining room was empty, the prime rib cooling on the plates, and the three of them were being led down the front walkway in steel restraints, their faces illuminated by the flashing red and blue lights of the police cars.
