Chapter 8 - The Reversal
Nathaniel stared at the officer, the pieces snapping together with sickening clarity. Richard hadn't just stolen the money; he had framed Nathaniel for the entire operation. The year-end paperwork Richard had brought him to sign just an hour ago—they weren't tax closures. They were documents legally tying Nathaniel to the shell companies holding the stolen money.
"Mr. Whitmore, turn around and place your hands behind your back," the officer instructed.
Behind Nathaniel, the study door creaked open. Sarah stood in the doorway, trembling, holding Lily's hand.
"He didn't do it," Sarah cried out to the police. "He's trying to help us! Richard Vance is the one who killed my husband!"
"Ma'am, please step back," the second officer warned.
Nathaniel didn't resist as the cuffs clicked around his wrists. He looked directly at the lead officer. "Officer, in my left breast pocket, there is a flash drive. It contains audio recordings of Richard Vance threatening my foreman the night before he died. It also contains the original, unaltered blueprints and safety reports that prove Vance was bypassing regulations without my knowledge."
The officer paused, looking at the drive Nathaniel gestured toward.
"Furthermore," Nathaniel continued, his voice steady and booming across the foyer, "if you look at the documents Richard Vance just filed with the precinct to get this warrant, you will find my signatures on them. But if you look closely, they are signed in black ink." He looked at Sarah, a small, triumphant smile touching his lips. "I haven't signed a legal document in anything other than blue ink in thirty-five years. Check my office. Check every contract my company has ever executed."
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The lead officer pulled the flash drive from Nathaniel's pocket, his brow furrowed in doubt.
"Take me to the station," Nathaniel said. "But send a car to Richard Vance's house. Because the moment he realizes I haven't been silenced, he is going to run."
