Chapter 26 - Eleanor's Confession
The 42nd floor of Montgomery Tower overlooked the black expanse of Elliott Bay, the city lights reflecting like scattered embers on the water. Inside the penthouse office, the air smelled of stale bourbon and burning paper.
Arthur Montgomery stood before a marble fireplace, methodically feeding folders into the flames. He was seventy-one, but his shoulders were broad, his eyes sharp and merciless behind wire-rimmed glasses.
The heavy mahogany doors swung open. Eleanor Vance stumbled into the room, her designer overcoat stained, her makeup running, her hands trembling around an expensive leather handbag.
"Arthur! You have to tell them!" Eleanor cried, her voice cracking with hysterica. "Julian’s been arrested! The police were at my condo in Bellevue! They froze my accounts! I can’t even use my credit cards!"
Arthur didn't turn around. He threw another stack of bearer bonds into the hearth. "You shouldn't have come here, Eleanor."
"What are you talking about?" she gasped, rushing toward the desk. "We had a deal! I was supposed to get twenty-five percent of the waterfront development once Lauren surrendered the deed! I did everything you asked! I alienated my own daughter, I pushed Nathan to sue her, I ruined our name in the papers!"
"And you failed," Arthur said coldly, turning around to face her. His expression was as dead as winter stone. "You produced a daughter who is smarter, bolder, and more competent than you or your pathetic, spoiled son will ever be. Lauren outplayed you at every turn, Eleanor. And now she has the original trust charter."
Eleanor froze, the color draining from her face. "The... the charter? That was destroyed in 2007. You told me Richard destroyed it before his crash!"
Arthur smiled—a thin, cruel line. "Richard didn't destroy it. He buried it where you could never touch it. Under the home he built for his real family. The home he gave exclusively to Lauren."
"You lied to me," Eleanor whispered, backing away toward the heavy double doors. "For fifteen years, you let me believe Richard died an honest man with no money left... you made me beg you for allowances!"
"You were always greedy, Eleanor. And foolish. Richard knew it from day one. That’s why he chose to protect Lauren." Arthur reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a sleek, blued steel revolver, laying it gently on the leather blotter. "The federal marshals are in the lobby. In approximately four minutes, they will breach this office. But they will find only one body responsible for the collapse of this company."
Eleanor stared at the gun, her breath hitching in pure terror. "Arthur... no. I’m your sister! We share the same father!"
"Our father died broke, Eleanor. Blood is an expense I cannot afford."
Before Arthur could lift the weapon from the blotter, the heavy mahogany double doors burst inward with an explosive crash.
"Federal agents! Put your hands where we can see them!"
Six tactical officers in body armor poured into the room, weapons trained directly on Arthur’s chest. Behind them walked Assistant U.S. Attorney Hayes and Marcus Vance.
Arthur paused, his hand inches from the revolver. He raised his hands slowly, his face devoid of emotion.
May you like
Behind him, Eleanor collapsed to her knees, weeping hysterically onto the Persian rug. "It was him! It was Arthur! He killed Richard! He cut the brake lines on Highway 101! I have the emails! I have the records! Take him, not me!"
Marcus stepped forward, looking down at my mother with cold, unwavering pity. "Stand up, Eleanor. You’re under arrest for conspiracy, wire fraud, and accessory to murder."
