Chapter 14 - The Ultimatum of Doom
I slowly straightened up,
adjusting the cuffs of my shirt with deliberate, chilling calm.
I reached back into the briefcase and pulled out two formal, embossed legal documents stamped with the county seal.
"You have two choices,"
I said,
my voice dropping back into that terrifying, icy whisper.
"Choice number one:
You sign these immediate quitclaim deed transfer forms,
signing full ownership of this house back to me,
along with a notarized confession of financial embezzlement and asset diversion."
Margaret’s eyes bulged in horror.
"And...
and what's choice number two?!"
she gasped.
"Choice number two,"
I continued,
holding up the second document,
"is that I leave this house right now,
hand this entire evidentiary portfolio to the district attorney and the county sheriff,
and watch you both spend the next ten to fifteen years in a federal penitentiary for grand larceny,
identity fraud,
and criminal negligence."
Paige broke down completely,
crumpling onto the living room sofa and burying her face in her hands as she sobbed hysterically.
"You can't do this to us,
Vance!
We're your family!
We're your mother and sister!"
"You stopped being my family the moment you decided my wife's life was worth less than a kitchen remodel and a new truck,"
I stated coldly.
I dropped a pen onto the coffee table right between them.
"You have exactly sixty seconds to choose.
May you like
Sign...
or go to prison."
