Chapter 13 - The Interrogation At The Mountain Cabin
Chloe’s warm smile instantly faded as she saw the dark, emotionless expression carved into John’s face.
"John? What happened?" she asked, setting the baby bottle down on the side table. "Did you get the land deeds?"
John walked across the room without saying a word, tossing the wet corporate folder directly onto her lap.
"Explain page fourteen to me, Chloe," John said, his voice flat and stripped of any affection.
Chloe looked down at the open folder, her eyes skimming the text until she reached the managing director signature line.
Her face drained of all color, becoming as white as the snow capping the mountain peaks outside.
"John... I can explain this..." Chloe stammered, her hands trembling so badly she dropped the folder onto the floor.
"I swear to you, it’s not what you think! I didn't know he put my name on those corporate papers!"
"Is Richard Vance your father?!" John shouted, his voice echoing off the timber beams with terrifying force.
Baby Liam began to cry loudly, startled by his father's sudden, explosive outburst of rage.
"Yes!" Chloe sobbed, tears spilling over her lashes as she hid her face in her trembling hands.
"Yes, he is my father! But I haven't spoken to him in eight years! I changed my name to get away from him!"
"You lied to me every single day of our marriage!" John roared, stepping closer and looming over her chair.
"You told me you were an orphan! You told me you had no family! And all the while, your father was plotting with my mother!"
"I didn't lie about loving you, John!" Chloe pleaded, reaching out to touch his arm, but he violently pulled away.
"My father is a monster! He controlled my entire life until I ran away from home when I turned twenty!"
"When I met you in Charleston, I had no idea who your family was," she wept hysterically.
"I didn't know your mother was connected to my father’s legal firm until three months after our wedding!"
"And you didn't think to tell me?!" John spat, his eyes burning with intense, unadulterated betrayal.
"You let my mother drug you, you let her slap you in our kitchen, and you kept this secret the whole time?!"
"I was terrified, John!" Chloe screamed back, her own anger suddenly flaring through her tears.
"My father threatened to kill me if I told you the truth! He said he would take my baby away the day he was born!"
Sam stepped into the cabin, holding his radio handset with a grave expression on his weathered face.
"Quiet down, both of you," Sam interrupted sternly. "We’ve got a major problem on the scanner."
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"A convoy of state police vehicles just crossed the county line," Sam announced grimly.
"And they aren't here to arrest you, John... they’re executing an emergency federal search warrant for treason."
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