Chapter 4 - The Final Confrontation
Three days later, Audrey heard a pounding on her apartment door.
She looked through the peephole.
Her father was standing there.
He wasn't wearing a suit.
His shirt was wrinkled. He hadn't shaved.
He looked like the man he had been before he started stealing.
"Audrey! Open this door!" he roared.
"You're killing us! The bank took the house! Joanne is having a breakdown!"
Audrey opened the door, but she kept the security chain on.
"You killed yourselves, Dad," she said.
"The moment you locked Grandma in the basement, you died to me."
"It was for the family!" Patrick pleaded, his eyes wild.
"I was going to pay it back! Once the tech deal went through, she would have had everything!"
"She already had everything," Audrey countered.
"It was her money. Her land. Her life."
"You didn't 'borrow' it. You tortured her for it."
Patrick lunged at the door, his shoulder slamming into the wood.
"Give me the box! I know it's in there!"
Audrey stepped back and picked up her phone.
"The police are already on their way, Patrick."
"And Elias has already handed over the evidence of the forgery to the D.A."
"You’re not here for a box. You’re here for a miracle."
"And I don't have any left for you."
Patrick let out a guttural scream of frustration.
He began to kick the door, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated greed.
Suddenly, another voice joined the hallway.
"Step away from the door, Mr. Callahan."
It was the police.
Audrey watched through the peephole as they forced her father to the ground.
She watched them click the handcuffs onto the wrists that used to wear gold watches.
The next morning, Joanne was arrested at a local hotel.
The "Grand Rapids Socialites" were the lead story on the morning news.
“Prominent Couple Charged with Kidnapping and Multi-Million Dollar Fraud.”
The secret was out.
The metal box had done its job.
Audrey went back into the living room.
Rosalyn was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of fresh fruit.
She was wearing a new dress—blue silk, the color of the sky.
"Is it finished?" Rosalyn asked.
"It's finished, Grandma," Audrey said.
"They can't hurt you anymore."
Rosalyn looked at the metal box sitting on the counter.
"Your grandfather always said that box would save us one day."
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"I just didn't know it would be you who opened it."
***
