Richard growled his face so close I could feel his hot, angry breath against my cheek. Sign your life away right now or we will destroy you before the sun comes up. The cold metal of this goldplated fountain pen pressed hard against my palm. Richard tightened his crushing grip around my fingers, attempting to physically force my hand down toward the signature line of the fraudulent promisory note.
His breathing was heavy ragged with the exertion of his own panic and malice. He honestly believed that brute strength and psychological terror could bend me to his will. He thought the 34 years of emotional conditioning he and Brenda had subjected me to would automatically trigger my submission.
I did not fight his physical strength. I did not try to wrestle my arm away from his massive frame. Instead, I simply relaxed my hand completely. I let my fingers go entirely limp. The heavy gold pen slipped right through my open grasp, tumbling downward. It hit the solid mahogany desk with a sharp loud clatter, rolling over the damning federal document and coming to a stop against the edge of the glowing laptop.
Richard froze his chest heaving as he stared down at the discarded pen. A heavy, dangerous silence blanketed the dim library. ‘Pick it up!’ Richard growled, his voice vibrating with a lethal, barely contained fury. ‘Pick up the pen and sign the paper, Caroline. You are out of options. You are out of time.
I lifted my chin and met his furious gaze with absolute unyielding calm. I do not negotiate with criminals. I stated my voice echoing with the cold measured authority of a courtroom magistrate. And I certainly do not sign confessions for felonies orchestrated by desperate failing men. You can threaten my job.
You can threaten to call human resources. You can threaten to drag my name through the mud with fake psychiatric reports. Do your worst, but understand this very clearly. You are playing a game you cannot possibly win because you have no idea who is sitting across the table from you. Brenda let out a high-pitched sound of pure exasperation throwing her hands up in the air.
‘She is delusional,’ Brenda shouted, turning to Terrence with a frantic, pleading look. ‘I told you she was unstable. She actually thinks she has some kind of leverage. We need to handle this right now before she ruins the entire evening.’ Britney stepped forward, her expensive silk gown rustling aggressively against the floor.
