“Where did you get these?” he stammered.
“From your former father in law,” Kyle answered from beside the window.
“You should never underestimate a man who built an empire from nothing.”
Tabitha sprang to her feet and screamed at the camera crew to stop recording.
“No, keep them running,” I said with a calmness I had not known I possessed.
“You wanted to record your big victory, so you should record the ending too.”
“This is a total setup!” she shrieked.
“No,” I told her, “you dug this hole yourselves, and my father just made sure you couldn’t climb back out.”
Penelope opened a laptop and played a video that silenced everyone.
My father appeared on the screen, thin from illness but still looking as sharp and focused as ever.
“If you are watching this, it’s because you were just as greedy as I expected you to be.”
“Tabitha, you made the mistake of thinking a sick man was a weak man, and you were very wrong.”
Pride rose inside me as his voice continued through the room.
“This isn’t revenge; it is simply a consequence of your own actions.”
“I want my daughter to see that kindness is not a weakness and that ambitious people often devour themselves.”
When the video ended, tears had ruined Tabitha’s makeup, and fear made her breathing uneven.
“The prosecutor’s office has been notified,” Penelope said calmly, “and there is also an investigation into your real identity, Tabitha.”
Two officers appeared at the doorway and called for the woman known as Tabitha Graves.