Chapter 3 - The Paper Trail
By noon, the shockwaves had reached the upper tiers of Hartwell County's local government.
Warren Voss sat behind his massive mahogany desk in his downtown office suite, rubbing his temples as his phone buzzed incessantly. Across from him, Daniel paced back and forth, his hands shaking as he held an ice pack against his jaw where Samuel’s implied threat still felt like a physical phantom.
"Dad, what do you mean the county auditor is freezing our accounts?" Daniel demanded, his voice cracking with rising panic. "It’s a domestic spat! Every prominent family in this state deals with private matters behind closed doors. Why are the inspectors descending on our commercial plazas downtown?"
"Shut up, Daniel!" Warren roared, slamming his fist onto the desk. "You arrogant idiot! You told me he was just an old farmer who grew hay! You had no idea who you were dealing with!"
"How was I supposed to know?!" Daniel yelled back. "He drives a twenty-year-old truck and wears overalls with holes in the knees!"
Warren stood up, walking heavily to the window that overlooked the town square. Down below, two municipal inspectors in high-visibility vests were already pinning official red stop-work notices to the front doors of the Voss Commercial Plaza—the Crown Jewel of the family’s rental portfolio.
"Samuel didn't just stumble into this," Warren muttered, his face pale. "I remember now. Twenty-five years ago, before the county commissioner board was reorganized, there was an independent state auditor who uncovered a massive embezzlement scheme involving the county sewer bond. He disappeared from public service right around the time he bought that rundown farm on the south road."
Warren slowly turned to look at his son. "His name wasn't Sam Reed back then. It was Samuel Reddington. The chief forensic accountant for the state attorney general's office."
Daniel stopped pacing, the blood draining completely from his face. "Reddington? As in... the guy who put three state senators in federal prison?"
"The very same," Warren whispered. "And you invited his daughter into your home, beat her bloody, and threw her out on the lawn while telling her that her father was nobody."
Before Daniel could formulate a response, the heavy oak doors of the private office burst open. Two uniformed county deputies stood in the doorway, flanked by Sheriff Miller himself, who looked profoundly uncomfortable holding a pair of heavy steel handcuffs.
"Warren. Daniel," Sheriff Miller said, clearing his throat. "I have a warrant signed by Superior Court Judge Hayes. Daniel Voss, you’re under arrest for felony domestic assault, aggravated battery, and unlawful intimidation of a witness."
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Daniel backed away until his spine hit the bookshelf. "You can't do this! Do you know who my father is? My dad owns half this town!"
"Not anymore, son," Sheriff Miller said grimly, clicking the cuffs onto Daniel’s wrists. "Old Sam just audited the town council's property deeds. Your family doesn't own this building anymore. The county just seized it for back taxes."
