Chapter 4 - The Confession
Bennett’s smile froze.
A murmur rippled through the ballroom.
“Maren,” Bennett hissed under his breath, stepping toward me. “Sit down.”
I ignored him.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and synced it to the massive presentation screens behind the stage.
The screens went dark.
Then, a bank ledger appeared.
“Over the last six months,” I said, my voice ringing clear and steady, “three million dollars intended for pediatric cancer research has been wired to a shell company in Delaware.”
The room gasped.
Bennett lunged for the microphone. “My wife is unwell! Turn the screens off!”
“The company,” I continued, easily stepping out of his reach, “is owned by a woman named Celeste Arden.”
I pointed directly at Celeste.
Five hundred heads turned to look at her.
Celeste shrank back in her chair, her face turning chalk-white.
“But stealing from sick children wasn’t enough,” I said.
I swiped my phone screen.
The image changed to the forged commercial deed of trust.
“This is a twelve-million-dollar loan taken out against my mother’s home. The signature was forged by my husband while my mother was in the ICU. The notary who sealed it was his mistress, Celeste.”
“Turn it off!” Bennett screamed, his polished mask completely destroyed.
He frantically waved at the AV technicians in the back of the room, but they didn’t move.
Gabriel had already secured the control booth.
“You’re insane!” Bennett yelled at me, his face red with panic. “This is a lie!”
“I’m not lying, Bennett,” I said quietly. “And neither is the FBI.”
The heavy mahogany doors at the back of the ballroom swung open.
Six federal agents in dark suits walked in, their badges clearly visible.
Bennett stopped screaming.
May you like
The entire ballroom watched in stunned, breathless silence as the FBI marched down the center aisle.
“Bennett Hayes,” the lead agent said, his voice carrying without a microphone. “You are under arrest for wire fraud, bank fraud, and embezzlement of charity funds.”
