Chapter 13 - The Last Dinner
Robert demanded that I come alone.
Federal agents surrounded the lake house before I arrived, but he had disabled the electricity and security system.
Snow fell heavily across the property.
I entered through the front door wearing a hidden microphone.
The chandelier glowed above the dining table using emergency power.
Robert sat in his old chair.
Ruth was tied beside him.
A gun rested against her ribs.
The scene looked almost identical to the night Tyler attacked me.
Formal plates.
Wineglasses.
A legal folder.
My father loved repeating his victories.
“Sit down,” he said.
I sat across from him.
Ruth’s lip was bleeding.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
Robert poured wine into my old glass.
“Still dramatic.”
“You killed Grandpa.”
“He forced my hand.”
“You pushed him down the stairs.”
“He planned to destroy everything I built.”
“He built the company.”
“I made it powerful.”
“You stole from it.”
Robert smiled.
“Your grandfather understood business only when it was small. I created the life all of you enjoyed.”
“And that gave you the right to erase mine?”
His expression hardened.
“You were a child. Your mother made the medical decisions.”
“You chose contracts over reporting my assault.”
“Mason was dead within two years. What would destroying two families have accomplished?”
“Justice.”
“Justice is a word powerless people use when they want powerful people to feel guilty.”
I looked at Ruth.
She was moving one hand slowly beneath the table, loosening the rope against a sharp metal edge.
Robert pushed the folder toward me.
“Sign control of the shares to a holding company.”
“You’re under arrest.”
“Only if they find me.”
“They already know you’re here.”
He lifted the gun.
“The house is wired with propane. If agents enter, we all die.”
I believed he had prepared something.
But I also knew he loved himself too much to die.
“What do I get?”
“Ruth lives. You receive the party recording. And I disappear.”
“Where is the recording?”
He tapped the phone beside his plate.
“Encrypted.”
I picked up the pen.
“Release Ruth first.”
“No.”
“Then you don’t get my signature.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You think you have power because people pity you.”
“No. I have power because you need something only I can give.”
For the first time, he looked uncertain.
Ruth freed one hand.
I kept his attention on me.
“Did Mom know you killed Grandpa?”
“She suspected.”
“Did Tyler?”
“No.”
“Did you ever love any of us?”
Robert leaned back.
“I provided for you.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
He did not answer.
Ruth suddenly pulled the tablecloth.
Plates and glasses crashed.
I dove sideways.
Robert fired.
The bullet struck the wall.
Agents broke through the windows.
Robert grabbed the phone and ran toward the kitchen.
I followed before anyone could stop me.
He reached the back door, but Tyler stood outside.
My brother had escaped custody during transport hours earlier.
He pointed a gun at our father.
“Give me the recording,” Tyler said.
Robert stared at him.
“You were supposed to leave the state.”
“You were going to abandon me.”
“I was protecting the family.”
“You mean yourself.”
For once, Tyler understood.
May you like
Then Robert raised his weapon.
👉 Olivia was trapped between the father who destroyed her life and the brother he had taught to solve every problem with violence.
