Chapter 6 - Turning the Tide
The breakthrough came from an unexpected source. Late on a rainy Thursday night, Winston Perry brought a nervous, young woman to the estate. Her name was Clara Miller, and she had served as Felicity Danforth’s personal executive assistant for the past three years.
"She has something you need to see, Bennett," Winston said, placing a heavy encrypted external hard drive on the dining table.
Clara was trembling as she spoke. "I couldn't stay silent anymore. When I saw the news stories calling Miss Josephine an unfit mother, I felt physically sick. I was the one Felicity ordered to scrub the hospital contact logs. I was the one who personally delivered the cash payments to the private investigator who forged the hotel photographs."
"Why are you coming forward now?" Josephine asked gently, stepping into the dining room.
"Because I kept copies of everything," Clara said, her voice gaining strength. "Felicity kept a detailed secondary ledger on an encrypted server to blackmail her brother if he ever crossed her. Every wire transfer, every doctored email, every recorded phone call—it's all on this drive. The raw, unedited security footage of the necklace plant is here, along with audio recordings of Felicity discussing how to isolate Bennett."
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Marcus Sterling, who had rushed over upon receiving Winston's call, quickly plugged the drive into his secure laptop. As the files loaded, line after line of undeniable, ironclad evidence filled the screen.
"This isn't just civil fraud," Marcus said, a cold smile spreading across his face. "This is felony wire fraud, grand larceny, conspiracy, and falsifying legal documents. This is enough to put Felicity and Julian Danforth away for a very long time."
