“Wait!” Ethan yelled as they grabbed his arms. “This is a setup! Elara, tell them! Tell them you’re confused!”

As they dragged him toward the door, he caught sight of the television in the corner of the room. It was tuned to the local news. The headline scrolling across the bottom made him stop dead.

APEX DEVELOPMENT CEO EMBROILED IN MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR FRAUD SCANDAL; ACCOUNTS FROZEN BY FEDERAL AUTHORITIES.

I leaned back against the pillows, exhaustion finally beginning to win. “The audit was finished yesterday, Ethan. I sent the final report to the DA an hour before you got home.”

Chapter 5: The Mother’s Greed

By 3:00 a.m., the hospital was a beehive of activity. My brother had moved me to a private wing, guarded by off-duty officers.

I was resting when the sound of raised voices drifted in from the hallway.