Chapter 12 - The CollapseArthur didn't panic. He slowly closed his leather folio, his movements deliberate and unhurried.
"You think you’ve ruined me," Arthur said softly, rising from his chair. "You’ve ruined your child’s inheritance. Montgomery Maritime will be tied up in federal receivership for five years. The stock will plummet fifty percent by the opening bell on Monday."
"Let it," Claire said.
Arthur froze.
"I don't care about the stock price, Arthur," Claire said, stepping closer to the table. "My father built this company with his own hands, and you spent ten years bleeding it dry to pay off your real estate debts in Palm Beach. I’d rather see it liquidated to the penny than let you take a single dollar from my baby."
Ryan stepped forward, reaching out a trembling hand. "Claire, please. My name is on the joint accounts. I’ll go to prison."
Claire looked at her husband. She looked at the man she had spent five years loving, the man who had held her hair back when she had morning sickness, the man who had sat across from her last night and held her wrists while his father threatened her.
"You should have thought about that before you forged my signature," she said.
The double doors of the boardroom swung open. Two federal marshals in dark windbreakers stepped inside, followed by Marcus Vance and a uniformed NYPD lieutenant.
"Arthur Sterling?" the lead marshal said, pulling a folded warrant from his pocket.
Arthur didn't look at the officers. He kept his eyes locked on Claire, his expression completely blank, stripped of all arrogance. He slowly raised his wrists.
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Ryan backed toward the window, his chest heaving. "Claire... tell them. Tell them I didn't know about the Caymans accounts. I only signed what my dad told me to sign!"
Claire didn't answer. She turned her back on him and walked out of the boardroom.
