Chapter 12: The Fall of the Prodigal
Sterling, who had just stepped out of the private elevator with the decoy briefcase, froze in terror. Seeing the federal agents, he dropped the case, turning to run, but two uniformed marshals tackled him to the plush carpet.
Marcus backed toward the expansive floor-to-ceiling glass windows, his eyes wild and unhinged. “Derek, please... you don't understand what kind of men I owed money to! They were going to kill me!”
Derek walked slowly toward his brother. There was no hatred in his eyes—only profound, heartbreaking sorrow.
“You buried our father alive, Marcus,” Derek said softly. “You sacrificed everything good in our family for numbers on a computer screen.”
“I was trying to survive!” Marcus wept, his arrogant facade completely crumbling. “Dad never loved me like he loved you!”
“Dad loved you enough to beg me not to seek vengeance,” Derek said, his voice steady. “He wanted you to face justice, not cruelty.”
The marshals gently pulled Marcus’s hands behind his back, clicking the steel cuffs into place. As they led him toward the elevators, Marcus kept his head down, unable to meet the eyes of the brother he had tried to destroy.
May you like
The entire boardroom stood in stunned silence as Derek turned off the projector.
---
