Harrison: Over here, Marcus! Third floor, Suite 302!
Harrison stood near the elevators in the sleek glass lobby of the office tower. He wore a simple gray jacket and held a heavy black folder under his arm.
Marcus: Did they go up to the main boardroom?
Harrison: Yes. They locked the glass doors, but I managed to wedge a doorstop in the side exit frame before they clicked it shut.
Elena: Good thinking, Harrison. Did you bring the police?
Harrison: Lieutenant Miller is on his way with two squad cars. They'll be here in five minutes, but if that wire instruction gets authorized digitally, the money leaves the country immediately.
Marcus: Then we aren't waiting five minutes. Come on.
They rushed into the elevator, the digital floor indicator ticking up quickly: 1... 2... 3. The doors slid open to reveal a carpeted hallway with frosted glass walls.
Inside Suite 302, Patricia was standing over a polished mahogany desk, holding a silver pen while Charles Vance leaned over a laptop screen.
Charles: Just sign the third page, Patricia. Once your signature is verified by the wire portal, the five million dollars moves directly to the Cayman account.
Patricia: What about Marcus? Will he get an automatic notification on his phone?
Charles: Not until midnight. By then, our flight leaves for Zurich.
Suddenly, the side door was thrown open with a loud, crashing thud. Marcus strode into the room, followed closely by Elena in her muddy wedding dress and Harrison holding his black folder.
Marcus: Put the pen down, Mother!
Patricia: Marcus?! How did you get in here?!
Charles: Security! Get in here right now!
Harrison: Don't bother calling your guards, Charles. They're downstairs talking to Lieutenant Miller in the lobby right now.
Charles's face turned completely white as he slammed the laptop lid shut, trying to pull the signed document toward his suit jacket.
Elena: Don't move a muscle, Charles! That document belongs to the court!
Patricia: Elena! You cheap little intruder! You ruined my life!
Elena: I didn't ruin your life, Patricia. Your own greed did. You tried to ruin my wedding dress, but all you did was hand us the key to your crimes.
Marcus: Step away from the desk, Mother. Both of you.
Charles: Marcus, listen to reason! I was only acting on your mother's explicit instructions as her family attorney!
Patricia: Charles! Don't you dare blame this on me!
Charles: She promised me a twenty percent commission on the transferred trust assets, Marcus! I have the email chain right here!
Patricia: You traitorous worm! You swore you would protect me!
Elena: Look at them, Marcus. Turning on each other the second the light shines on them.
Marcus: Hand over the laptop, Charles.
Charles slowly pushed the laptop across the dark wood table toward Harrison, his hands shaking so violently he could barely keep his balance.
Harrison: Got it. The wire authorization is still pending signature verification. I'm canceling the request right now.
Harrison tapped a few keys on his phone, syncing it with the laptop screen until a bright green message flashed across the monitor: WIRE TRANSFER CANCELED BY ACCOUNT TRUSTEE.
Patricia: No... no! That money was mine! I raised you, Marcus! I built this family!
Marcus: You didn't build anything, Mother. My father built this company, and you tried to rob his sick daughter to pay off your gambling debts in Monaco.
Heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway as Lieutenant Miller and two uniformed officers stepped into the boardroom with handcuffs ready.
Lieutenant Miller: Patricia Sterling and Charles Vance, you are under arrest for attempted grand larceny, fraud, and conspiracy.