I came home from a three-day business trip and found my wife and six-year-old daughter barely breathing on the kitchen floor.

Daniel collapsed back into his chair, his eyes wide and vacant, staring at the laptop screen as if looking into his own grave. Evelyn sat entirely motionless, her hands clutched so tightly around her linen blouse that the fabric began to tear, her face completely hollowed out of any remaining humanity.

Detective Miller slowly closed the lid of his forensic laptop, his eyes locking onto the two uniform troopers standing by the door.

“Arrest them,” Miller said, his voice dropping into a deadly, official register. “Charges are double attempted first-degree murder, corporate grand larceny, domestic abuse, and conspiracy to commit a capital offense. Hold them without bail.”

The junior attorney stood up immediately, raising his hands in the air. “For the record, my firm is officially withdrawing representation for these individuals effective immediately. I was completely unaware of the criminal nature of their activities.” He turned on his heel and practically fled the room, leaving Daniel and Evelyn alone.

The metal click of handcuffs snapping around Daniel’s wrists echoed through the room. As the officer pulled his arms behind his back, the gold Patek Philippe watch slid down his forearm, its polished surface catching the cold white light.

“Michael, please!” Daniel screamed as he was violently shoved toward the doorway, his arrogance completely evaporating into a pathetic, high-pitched wail. “It was Mother’s idea! She told me you had too much money! She said you owed us for leaving the family to build your own life! Please, Mike! Call the lawyer! Tell them it’s a mistake!”

I didn't look at him. I didn't say a single word. I kept my eyes fixed on the paper cup of water in my hands until the sound of his screaming faded down the long hospital corridor.

Evelyn didn't scream. As the female trooper pulled her arms behind her back, she stood up slowly, her spine straight, her eyes locked onto me with a look of pure, concentrated venom that would have terrified me as a child.

“You always were a ungrateful little wretch, Michael,” she whispered, her voice low and raspy. “I gave you life, and you gave everything to that common, fragile little girl. You chose her over your own blood. You deserve whatever happens to your house.”

“My family is in those treatment rooms, Evelyn,” I said, my voice entirely steady, my eyes finally rising to look into her cold, dead stare. “You are not my blood. You are just a parasite that finally ran out of time.”

The door shut behind her, leaving me completely alone in the cold conference room.

My phone vibrated against the table. I picked it up. It was a direct message from David, my attorney:

Michael, all accounts have been successfully frozen. The $84,000 has been flagged as a fraudulent transaction and pulled back into escrow. The IP addresses used to authorize the transfers have been traced directly to a cellular device registered in Daniel’s name, located at your residential address. The bank’s fraud division is preparing a federal asset seizure report. How are Clara and Lily?