He picks up the pen.
It takes forty minutes to process everything. Documents transferring the company assets. Financial releases. Legal disclaimers witnessed and notarized by our lawyer on every page. Then we set up the video camera on a tripod, and Robert records his confession.
He explains in detail how he married Mandy to access her business for money laundering, and how he used her company to pay off his gambling debts. How he manipulated Samantha’s grief after her mother died, feeding her lies about the Hales destroying Mandy’s life. How he orchestrated her entire relationship with Logan just to get an inside source on our operations.
His voice cracks twice during the recording, but I don’t feel an ounce of sympathy.
When he’s finished, Dad downloads the file and backs it up to three separate encrypted servers. Insurance in case Robert decides to resurface later.
“We’re done here,” Dad says, standing. “Marcus is waiting outside to escort you to the airfield. A plane leaves for Mexico City in two hours. I suggest you be on it.”
Robert stands slowly, as if his bones turned to glass during the confession. He doesn’t look at any of us as he gathers his briefcase with trembling hands.
At the door, he hesitates. Turns back. “Samantha, I’m?—”
“Don’t,” she interrupts, her voice sharp. “Just go.”
Marcus appears in the doorway, his hand resting casually near his hip again. Robert follows him out without another word, and the door clicks shut behind them.
Silence fills the room.
Samantha’s shoulders start shaking first. Then her breath comes in short gasps, and suddenly she’s crying. Not quiet tears, but full-body sobs that make her fold in on herself.
Dad reaches her first, pulling her against his chest. I move to her other side, my hand on her back as she breaks down completely.
“It’s over,” Dad murmurs against her hair. “He’s gone, and he’s never coming back.”
“Everything I believed,” she chokes out between sobs. “My mother, the plan, all of it was based on his lies.”
“I know,” I tell her. “But now you know the truth. And we’re going to make sure you get everything back that he stole from you.”
She cries for a long time. We hold her through it, letting her purge years of manipulation and grief. On the phone screen, Kai watches with an expression I rarely see on my youngest brother’s face. Protective. Fierce. Like he’d hunt Robert down himself if the man ever tried to come back.
Eventually, Samantha’s sobs turn to hiccups. She pulls back from Dad’s chest, wiping her face with her sleeve.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I shouldn’t?—”
“Don’t apologize,” Dad cuts her off. “You have every right to fall apart. Robert destroyed your life for years. You’re allowed to grieve that.”
“What happens now?” she asks, voice small.
“Now we make sure he actually leaves,” I say. “Marcus will confirm when he’s on the plane. Then we’ll monitor to make sure he stays in Mexico and doesn’t try anything stupid.”
“And what about me?” She looks between us. “What about the baby? What about everything I did while I was here?”
Dad cups her face in his hands, forcing her to meet his eyes. “You were manipulated. You came here under false pretenses because someone you trusted lied to you. That’s not your fault.”
“But I still lied to you,” she whispers. “I still came here planning to hurt you.”
“And then you fell in love with us instead,” Kai says from the phone screen. “That counts for something.”
A ghost of a smile crosses her face. “I’m a terrible spy.”
“The worst,” Kai agrees. “Which is exactly why we’re keeping you.”
She laughs, watery and broken, but genuine.
My phone buzzes with a text from Marcus:Robert’s in the SUV heading to the airfield. Twenty minutes until departure.
