Part 5: The Cost of the Cover-Up
"Where... where did you get that?" Rebecca stammered, her voice rising into a panicked, frantic screech. "That was supposed to be cleared! It was an accident! She provoked me—"
"She's five years old, Rebecca," I said, my voice dropping into a register that made the room feel instantly below freezing. "And you are a criminal. The Austin Police Department has already authenticated the source file. The warrant for injury to a child was signed by a magistrate exactly thirty minutes ago."
My father stood up so fast his leather chair crashed backward against the glass wall. "Daniel, think about what you're doing! If this video hits the local wire, the family firm’s public validation drops to zero! Our investors will pull the commercial credit lines by noon! We can settle this internally. We can increase Lily's allocation from the corporate shares—"
"You don't have any shares left to allocate, Dad," I stated, sliding a stack of certified legal documents across the table. "While you were busy trying to figure out how to cover up your daughter's violence, the forensic accountants from the state board completed their check. You withdrew eight hundred thousand dollars from Lily's private trust last month to cover the deficit on your North Austin development project without my co-signature."
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The silence that followed was heavier than any canyon wall. My father staggered backward, his hands shaking as his eyes flew across the federal wire-fraud notifications now lighting up his personal laptop.
"That's grand larceny, Robert," I said softly. "Combined with the medical concealment of child abuse, the state threshold is maximum tier. The federal marshals are currently entering the lobby downstairs."
