Chapter 7 - The Leverage
The locked door rattled.
“Claire,” Daniel’s muffled voice came through the heavy wood. It was sickeningly sweet, laced with a manic edge. “Claire, honey. I know you’re awake. Dr. Harris told me. Open the door. I just want to see my daughter.”
Claire pulled the blanket higher over Lily, her heart hammering against her ribs. She looked at Thomas.
Her father didn’t panic. He picked up the leather ledger Madeline had dropped on the bed and slid it into his inside jacket pocket. Then, he pointed a stern finger at Madeline, signaling her to stay hidden in the attached bathroom.
Thomas walked to the door and unlocked it.
He swung it open just as Daniel was raising his fist to bang on the wood.
Daniel froze. Behind him stood two hospital security guards, looking incredibly uncomfortable.
“Mr. Whitmore,” one of the guards started nervously. “Mr. Bennett has legal rights as the spouse to check on the patient—”
“Mr. Bennett’s legal rights end where my daughter’s safety begins,” Thomas said smoothly, stepping into the doorway to block Daniel’s view of the room. “You may wait in the lobby, Daniel.”
Daniel’s charming facade finally cracked. His face twisted into an ugly, desperate sneer. He stepped closer to Thomas, lowering his voice so the guards couldn’t hear.
“You don’t own me anymore, Thomas,” Daniel hissed. “I have the power of attorney. In thirty minutes, the bank in the Caymans processes the wire. That $30 million is gone. If you want any chance of getting it back, you’re going to let me walk into that room, take my daughter, and walk out of this hospital.”
Claire gasped from the bed. He was trying to use the baby as a hostage for his escape.
Thomas didn’t blink. He just stared at the man who had thought he could outsmart the Whitmore family.
“Are you referring to the $30 million you tried to funnel through Madeline Croft’s shell company?” Thomas asked quietly.
Daniel’s eyes widened. The color drained from his face.
Thomas leaned in closer, his voice a whisper of absolute ruin. “Did you really think I wouldn’t find out who she was? Did you really think you were the smartest man in the room, Daniel? You’re a parasite who got lucky ten years ago, and you’ve been terrified someone would find out ever since.”
Daniel shook his head violently. “You don’t have the authenticator. You can’t stop the wire transfer. You can’t prove anything!”
Thomas slowly reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the Patek Philippe watch. It wasn’t the ledger. It was the watch Madeline had dropped in the waiting room.
He dangled it by its gold chain.
“You left this on your mistress, Daniel,” Thomas said. “She left it on my floor. Along with everything else.”
Thomas unclipped the watch from the chain and held it up. With a sudden, violent motion, Thomas hurled the antique watch against the ceramic tile wall of the hallway.
The glass shattered. The delicate gears exploded across the floor.
It was a total destruction of Daniel’s ego.
“Vance,” Thomas said clearly.
From around the corner of the hallway, Vance appeared. He wasn’t alone. Two men in dark windbreakers with federal badges clipped to their belts walked in sync beside him.
“Mr. Daniel Bennett?” one of the federal agents asked, stepping past the hospital security.
Daniel stumbled backward, his eyes darting frantically. “On what charges?”
“Wire fraud, forgery, and embezzlement,” the agent said, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. “We received a very detailed leather ledger via courier ten minutes ago. It paints a very clear picture.”
Daniel looked at Thomas in absolute horror. He realized Madeline had sold him out. He had nothing. No money, no company, no leverage.
As the agent clamped the cold steel around his wrists, Daniel looked past Thomas’s shoulder, making eye contact with Claire in the bed.
“Claire! Tell them! Tell them it’s a misunderstanding!” he begged, his voice cracking into a pathetic whine.
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Claire held her baby tight. She looked at the man she had loved, the man she had made excuses for, the man who had almost destroyed her.
“Goodbye, Daniel,” she said softly.
