Chapter 6: The Blackwood Collapse
\nJustin walked slowly to the foot of the hospital bed, his eyes locked on mine, completely ignoring the groaning, bandaged man between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you to leave, Sabrina,\u201d Justin repeated, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low octave. \u201cKenneth\u2019s legal counsel is on the way. I\u2019m taking over his medical proxy and his assets. The board has already been notified of his\u2026 indiscretions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking over his assets?\u201d I feigned confusion, tilting my head. \u201cWhy would you do that, Justin? Unless, of course, those assets were meant for you all along.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justin\u2019s jaw tightened. He glanced at Kenneth, who was desperately trying to stay awake, his eyes darting between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve always been too emotional, Sabrina,\u201d Justin sneered, dropping the loving brother act entirely. \u201cDad was a fool to leave the company to a woman who spends her days crying over empty cribs. Sterling Holdings needs a leader. Not a depressed housewife. Kenneth was just a means to an end. A dumb, greedy tool I used to move the money into the Blackwood escrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth gasped from the bed, his heart monitor spiking. \u201cJustin\u2026 you said\u2026 we were partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justin laughed, a cold, empty sound. \u201cPartners? You slept with my wife, you arrogant prick. I was going to let you keep a few million and flee the country. But now? I\u2019m going to take the forty million, foreclose on the estate tomorrow, and let you rot in federal prison for embezzling from your own wife. Maya was just the bait to destroy your credibility before I pulled the plug.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth let out a choked sob, realizing the sheer magnitude of the trap he had walked into. He had betrayed me for money, only to be betrayed by the very man writing the checks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a brilliant plan, Justin,\u201d I said, slowly clapping my hands together. The sound was sharp and mocking in the quiet hospital room. \u201cTruly. Using a shell company to bankrupt your own sister, bribing my husband to poison my fertility treatments\u2026 it\u2019s Shakespearean.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justin frowned, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his arrogant features. \u201cHow do you know about the fertility drugs?\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached into my blazer and pulled out the laminated medical file, tossing it onto Kenneth\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found the safe, Justin,\u201d I said, my voice dropping its playful tone, replaced by the lethal edge of a guillotine blade. \u201cI found the pharmacy logs. I found the offshore accounts. And I found your signature on the Blackwood foreclosure notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justin\u2019s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, but he quickly recovered, smoothing the lapels of his suit. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what you found. You can\u2019t stop it. The transfer to my primary accounts triggers in less than twenty-four hours. By the time you get a lawyer to file an injunction, the money will be gone, the house will be mine, and you will be destitute.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d I nodded, pulling Kenneth\u2019s phone from my pocket. \u201cFiling an injunction would take way too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
I held the screen up. Justin squinted, reading the bold, green text displaying the completed transaction.<\/p>\n
**$40,000,000.00 USD \u2013 SUCCESSFULLY ROUTED TO OVERRIDE ACCOUNT: SABRINA ROLLINS PRIVATE TRUST.**<\/p>\n
The color completely drained from Justin\u2019s face. He stumbled backward, his knees hitting the metal frame of the visitor\u2019s chair. \u201cNo. No, that\u2019s impossible. You need dual biometric authentication. You need his thumbprint!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very cooperative,\u201d I smiled, looking down at Kenneth, who was staring at me in horrified awe.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou bitch!\u201d Justin roared, lunging toward me.<\/p>\n
But he never reached me.<\/p>\n
The heavy hospital door flew open again, and two men in dark windbreakers emblazoned with the letters **FBI** stepped into the room, followed closely by two local police officers. Elias Vance stood in the hallway behind them, offering me a subtle, two-finger salute.<\/p>\n
\u201cJustin Sterling,\u201d the lead agent barked, flashing his badge. \u201cYou are under arrest for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, extortion, and corporate espionage. Put your hands behind your back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justin froze, his hands trembling as the police officers aggressively spun him around and slapped the steel cuffs onto his wrists. He looked at me, his eyes wide with a frantic, desperate realization that he had underestimated the sister he spent two years trying to destroy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSabrina, wait! We\u2019re family!\u201d Justin pleaded, his voice cracking as they dragged him toward the door. \u201cYou can\u2019t do this! I\u2019m your brother!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stopped being my brother the day you decided my womb was an obstacle to your bank account,\u201d I said, my voice devoid of any warmth, any mercy. \u201cBurn in hell, Justin.\u201d<\/p>\n
They hauled him out into the hallway, his shouts fading down the corridor.<\/p>\n
I turned back to the bed. Kenneth was hyperventilating, his monitors screaming in a chaotic rhythm. \u201cSabrina\u2026 please\u2026 they can\u2019t take me. I need medical care\u2026 I\u2019m your husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lead FBI agent approached the bed, pulling a warrant from his jacket. \u201cKenneth Rollins, you are under arrest for grand larceny, wire fraud, and medical tampering. You will remain under armed guard until you are medically cleared for transport to a federal holding facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
I walked up to the edge of the bed. I leaned down, bringing my face inches from Kenneth\u2019s sweaty, terrified face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you,\u201d I whispered, \u201cthat the combination to the safe was the price of your surgery. I never said it was the price of your freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, leaving him to the agents.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chapter 6: The Blackwood Collapse Justin walked slowly to the foot of the hospital bed, his eyes locked on mine, completely ignoring the groaning, bandaged man between us. \u201cI told … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-drama-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13699"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13704,"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13699\/revisions\/13704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redditlovers.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}