Chapter 4 - The Ultimatum
By sunrise, the local precinct had processed Lucas. Because of his prior driving violations and the added weight of felony forgery tied to the vehicle transfer, the magistrate denied his initial bail request pending an arraignment hearing.
My phone finally stopped buzzing around 4:00 AM, only to start again with a vengeance at 7:30 AM.
This time, it wasn't my mother or Jessica. It was the number of my father's legal counsel—an aging family-friend attorney named Harrison who usually handled real estate closings and minor traffic tickets.
I answered on the fourth ring.
"Elina," Harrison’s voice was smooth, dripping with patronizing corporate mediation tone. "I'm calling on behalf of your father and your brother. We need to talk about mitigating the damage before this goes before a judge this afternoon."
"There's nothing to talk about, Harrison," I said, pouring coffee into my mug. "The police have the recorded confession, the forged document, and the vehicle recovery report. My father confessed to the forgery on tape."
"And that tape is precisely what we are going to challenge as an unlawful entrapment of an emotional senior citizen," Harrison replied smoothly, shifting gears with practiced ease. "Listen to me, Elina. If your brother goes to trial with a felony record, he loses his job prospects, his family falls apart, and your father’s health—which isn't great, as you know—will take a catastrophic hit. Do you really want to be the reason your father has a heart attack?"
The emotional blackmail was so predictable it was almost boring.
"If my father cared about his health, he shouldn't have committed identity theft," I countered evenly.
"He made a mistake out of love for his son," Harrison pressed. "Here is my proposal. You sign an affidavit stating that you did give verbal authorization for the transfer, and that a clerical misunderstanding caused the police involvement. We drop the whole thing, your brother comes home today, and the family agrees to let bygones be bygones."
I stopped mid-sip, my coffee mug hovering inches from my mouth.
"Let me get this straight," I said, my voice dropping an octave. "You want me to commit perjury, lie to a court of law, and cover up a felony so my brother can walk away consequence-free?"
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"It’s called family preservation, Elina," Harrison said smoothly. "Think about it very carefully. Because if you proceed with this prosecution, your father is prepared to cut you out of the family trust completely, contest your inheritance rights, and ensure that no one in this town ever looks at you the same way again."
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