Chapter 6
The precinct parking lot was slick with rainwater that reflected the harsh sodium glare of the overhead streetlamps. Maya pushed open the heavy glass doors of the station, her pink platform boots clicking rhythmically against the wet asphalt. She pulled her white varsity jacket tighter around her shoulders against the biting late-night chill. Clara followed closely behind her, clutching her bag to her chest like a shield, while Elena trailed a few paces back, ignoring them both as she unlocked her sleek black sedan.
“We can’t keep pretending this is going to blow over, Elena,” Maya called out across the pavement, her voice cutting through the hiss of passing traffic on the nearby highway.
Elena paused with her hand on the driver’s side door handle. She turned her head slowly, her long brown hair catching the amber light of the parking lot lamp. Her face was bruised, a dark purple shadow blooming across her cheekbone where Maya’s fist had connected.
“Who’s pretending, Maya?” Elena asked quietly. “I handed the internal audit files to the senior partners an hour before we met at the lounge. By morning, the board will have Clara’s signature on every fraudulent transfer.”
Clara stopped dead in her tracks, the breath catching in her throat. She stared at Elena in absolute horror. “You… you gave them to the board? Without talking to me first? You promised we’d handle it internally!”
“I promised nothing of the sort,” Elena replied coldly, her voice devoid of empathy. “You stole from the firm, Clara. You used my credentials to siphon client retainers into an offshore account to cover your husband’s gambling debts. You thought I wouldn’t notice because I was too busy closing the Henderson account.”
“I was going to pay it back!” Clara sobbed, the fragile facade finally cracking as tears mixed freely with the lingering traces of red wine staining her collar. “You don’t understand the pressure I was under. They were going to hurt him, Elena!”
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“I understand that your personal choices have now implicated both of us in federal wire fraud,” Elena fired back, stepping into her car and slamming the door shut with a heavy thud. The engine roared to life instantly, and within seconds, the sedan reversed out of the stall and sped away into the rainy night, leaving Maya and Clara standing alone in the damp cold.
Maya looked at Clara, her expression a complex mixture of disappointment and lingering affection. She reached out, gently placing a hand on Clara’s trembling shoulder. “You should have told us, Clara. Lying to Elena was the one mistake you couldn't outrun.”
