Regina closed her eyes. “You stole from your own family,” she said steadily. “What help are you asking for.”
“I had no choice,” Madison cried. “He said if I did not give him the money, he would tell everyone what happened in Seattle. I was terrified.”
Regina looked at Piper, who stood quietly beside her, brave and steady. “You always have a choice,” Regina replied. “You chose him over us.”
The line went dead.
That night Regina barely slept. By morning she had packed the tablet, printed the cloud backups, and taken Piper by the hand to the Denver police station. Detective Sarah Kim listened with professional calm as Regina laid out every detail and played the recordings. When Tyler spoke his name in the video, the detective paused the screen.
“That man is already under investigation for financial exploitation,” she said. “Your evidence connects him to several cases.”
Within a week Tyler was located at a casino in Reno and arrested. Madison was detained hours later at a bus station. Regina received a call confirming that both were in custody, and she felt no triumph, only a hollow exhaustion.
She traveled to Nevada to give an official statement. The district attorney, Rachel Adams, explained that Tyler faced extensive fraud charges and could spend over a decade in prison. Madison faced years as well unless she agreed to testify.
Regina requested a meeting with her sister before deciding anything.
Madison entered the interview room in a plain jumpsuit, hair pulled back, eyes swollen. She sat across from Regina with trembling hands.
“I am sorry,” Madison whispered. “I know sorry does not fix anything, but I mean it.”
Regina studied her sister’s face and saw fear rather than malice. “Tell me the truth,” Regina said. “All of it.”
Madison took a breath. “In Seattle I got involved with a married man. I took money to keep quiet. When it ended, Tyler found out. He said he would expose everything. I was ashamed. I felt trapped. When he said your accounts could save us, I broke.”
Regina listened, feeling anger and pity twisting together. “You hurt Piper,” she said. “You hurt me. You will have to live with that.”
Madison nodded, tears falling freely. “I will testify. I will do anything to fix this.”