Chapter 5 - THE CRASHING OF THE CROWN
The sound of the doors hitting the walls was like a thunderclap.
Derek jumped back,
the pen flying from his hand and skidding across the polished table.
Police officers swarmed the room,
their shadows long and imposing.
"Derek Ellis!"
Detective Vance roared,
his voice commanding the space.
"Step away from the table!"
Marlene shrieked,
her hands flying to her throat.
"What is this?"
she screamed.
"You can't be in here!"
"This is a private meeting!"
"This is a crime scene,
Ma'am,"
another officer said,
firmly guiding her into a chair.
Mr. Sterling and the other investors stood up,
their faces masks of shock and disgust.
"We’re done here,"
Sterling said,
tossing the contract back at Derek.
"I should have listened to the rumors."
I stepped into the room then,
leaning on Elena's arm.
I was wearing a simple black coat over my hospital gown,
my face bruised,
my lip swollen.
I looked like the "useless woman" Derek had punched.
And I looked like the owner of the building.
Derek stared at me as if I were a ghost risen from the grave.
"Cassie?"
he whispered,
his voice thin and pathetic.
"You...
you're supposed to be..."
"In a gutter?"
I asked,
my voice steady despite the pain.
"Or in Sedona?"
"Or maybe just dead?"
I walked up to him,
each step a victory.
"I was never gone,
Derek."
"I was just watching."
"I watched you steal from my father."
"I watched you hit me at 3:00 a.m."
"And I watched you lie to these men just now."
Marlene tried to stand,
but an officer pushed her back down.
"She’s lying!"
Marlene wailed.
"She’s mentally ill!"
"She did this to herself!"
I looked at the Detective.
"Did she?"
I asked.
Vance pulled out a tablet and hit play.
The video from 3:07 a.m. filled the boardroom.
The sound of the punch was sickeningly clear.
The sight of Marlene laughing in the doorway made the investors turn away in revulsion.
"Derek Ellis,"
Vance said,
reading from a card.
"You are under arrest for domestic assault,"
"forgery,"
"and grand larceny."
"Marlene Ellis,"
he continued,
"you are under arrest for conspiracy"
"and money laundering."
The handcuffs clicked into place,
the sound more beautiful than any music I had ever heard.
Derek began to sob,
a jagged,
ugly sound.
"Cassie,
please!"
he begged.
"I love you!"
"I was just stressed!"
"The business is failing!"
"The business is failing because you’re a thief,"
I said,
leaning close to his ear.
"And the house?"
"The house is being put back into my father's estate trust."
"You're not a king,
Derek."
"You're just a small man who lived in a big shadow."
As they were led out of the room,
I turned to my father’s portrait.
"It's done,
Dad,"
May you like
I whispered.
"Everything is coming home."
