Chapter 35
Ruth didn’t flinch at his pushy tone. She turned to him. “What’s the proof?”
She had no idea how Raven got that money, but she wasn’t buying that her daughter swiped it.
Yeah, she’d scratched by in poverty with the Henderson family for years, but she wasn’t clueless.
If Raven had nabbed a hundred million bucks, she would’ve been in prison for life now.
And if Starspire Bank had lost that much, it would’ve been all on TV.
69%
Tyler’s eyes narrowed, his voice dropping low and menacing. “You’ve got one minute. Don’t sign, and I’ll drag your daughter in here. Stealing that much cash? You’re both toast!”
“She didn’t do it, and you’ve got nothing to arrest anyone with,” Ruth said, standing her ground. “I want to talk to your boss!”
Tyler let out a loud, disbelieving laugh.
“My boss?” he laughed, “A nobody like you wants to talk to my boss?”
“You want proof?” He smirked. “Alright, I’ll give you some!”
With that, Tyler stepped up and grabbed Ruth’s wrist tight.
“What are you doing?” Ruth snapped, a hint of panic slipping in.
She felt his grip clamp down and tried to pull away.
But Ruth was too weak to shake off a guy like him.
“What am I doing?” Tyler snorted. “You asked for proof, didn’t you? I’m giving it to you!”
He forced her hand open, shoving her finger into a pen.
A creepy grin spread across his face as he pulled her finger toward the confession’s signature spot.
Even with Ruth fighting back hard, he yanked her hand down toward the signature line.
Right as her finger was about to touch the paper, a loud crash exploded through the room.
“Boom!” The holding room door burst open, smashed in from the outside.
Right away, all four people in the holding room whipped their heads toward the door.
There was Raven, stepping in slow, her vibe so cold it practically chilled the air.
When she saw the deputy director twisting Ruth’s arm, that chill turned downright glacial.
From the interrogation chair, Ruth glanced at the door, her voice quiet. “Raven?”
It wasn’t loud, but in the pin–drop silence, it carried enough for Tyler and the others to catch it.
Tyler shook off his surprise quick.
He slid the confession Ruth had been forced to fingerprint out of sight.
Then he yelled toward the door, “Someone get in here and deal with this girl crashing my holding room!”
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Chapter 35
Outside, the five cops Raven had just knocked down were picking themselves up, grunting as they got their bearings.
One of them pulled his gun, pointing the barrel right at Raven’s head.
The other four grabbed their tåsers, spreading out slow and careful to box her in.
But Raven didn’t even flick her eyes their way.
She stared straight at Tyler, that icy edge of hers not letting up for a second.
Her voice cut through, sharp and steady. “You arrested my mom?”
Tyler let out a cocky little huff.
“Arresting her? Nah, I’m coming for you too!” he shot back. “You’re both on the hook for a huge theft. Give up now, or we’ve got every right to take you down right here!”
As he talked, a quick spark of excitement flashed in his eyes.
‘Perfect,’ he thought. ‘You could’ve stayed clear, but you just strolled right into the trap.‘
His first plan was to force Ruth’s signature, then hunt Raven down, frame them both, and get them taken out quick.
But now? He almost couldn’t believe how easy this was–luck was practically tossing him the prize!
He grinned to himself. With next to no risk, he could snag at least half that hundred million.
Off to the side, the greeter and the teller swapped a look, their eyes lighting up with the same greedy buzz.
If they could take out this girl and the old lady, that hundred million was basically in their pocket.
The greeter stepped up, smirking at Raven.
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