Chapter 6 - The Fall of the House of Montgomery
The scandal exploded across the national news within twenty-four hours.
"BRIDE ARRESTED AT ALTAR FOR KIDNAPPING MOTHER-IN-LAW" read the front-page headline of the Daily Chronicle. Photos of Claire in handcuffs, contrasted with her glamorous engagement pictures, were broadcast on every major television network across the country.
The public reaction was immediate and brutal.
The Montgomery family’s remaining business assets collapsed overnight. Investors pulled out of their real estate projects, creditors filed emergency injunctions, and federal investigators raided Arthur Montgomery’s corporate headquarters, uncovering a massive scheme of wire fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering.
Three days after the wedding, I sat in my office at Vance & Sterling. The desk was piled high with legal documents, annulment papers, and police statements.
My door knocked gently. My father walked in, carrying two cups of black coffee. He set one down in front of me and sat in the leather armchair opposite my desk.
"How is Mom doing today?" I asked, taking a sip of the bitter hot liquid.
"She's sleeping better," Dad replied, a soft smile finally touching his face. "Her physical wounds are healing. But more than that... she feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. For years, Claire made her feel small, crazy, and useless. Seeing the truth come out freed her."
I nodded slowly, staring out the floor-to-ceiling window at the city skyline. "What about the Montgomerys?"
Dad’s expression turned stern. "Arthur Montgomery filed for bankruptcy this morning. His home, his cars, his country club memberships—everything is being seized by the state. Claire’s bail was set at five million dollars. Her father couldn't afford to pay it. She's sitting in a county jail cell right now, waiting for trial."
"Good," I said coldly. "She deserves to stay there."
"There's something else, Daniel," Dad said, leaning forward and placing a file on my desk. "Claire’s defense attorney called our legal team this morning. She wants a plea deal. She’s offering to give full testimony against Ethan and the offshore syndicate that helped fund her father's fraud, but she has one condition."
I raised an eyebrow. "What condition?"
"She wants to see you," Dad said quietly. "In person. At the detention facility."
I stared at the file. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to refuse, to wash my hands of her forever and let her rot in darkness. But deep down, a quiet, burning question remained unanswered.
Why?
May you like
Why had she gone to such horrifying lengths? Was it truly just money, or was there something even deeper and more twisted behind her obsession with destroying my mother?
"Tell the attorney I'll be there at three o'clock," I said.
