Chapter 8 - The Interrogation Room
The fluorescent lights of the precinct interrogation room hummed with a monotonous, headache-inducing frequency. The metal table between Elena and Detective Vance—no relation, a bitter irony that wasn't lost on her—was entirely bare except for a manila folder and a digital voice recorder spinning its tiny magnetic reels.
Elena sat with her hands cuffed loosely to a bolted ring in the center of the table, her dark blazer rumpled from the events in the basement. Her breathing remained shallow, controlled through sheer force of will, though her mind raced through every possible legal counter-strategy.
"Let's go over the wire transfers again, Ms. Sterling," Detective Vance said, a middle-aged man with tired eyes and a perpetually rumpled gray suit. He slid a printed bank statement across the table. "Forty-two million dollars moved from the corporate venture fund into an offshore Cayman account at 8:14 AM today. Your biometric signature authorized the release."
"My signature was spoofed," Elena said, her voice calm and steady despite the exhaustion clawing at her throat. "The smart home network was hacked by Evelyn Vance. She has administrative master credentials from the original corporate merger three years ago."
Detective Vance sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We checked the server logs, Ms. Sterling. The traffic originated from the internal terminal registered to your personal IP address inside the residence. Furthermore, the physical security system shows zero external breach attempts. You locked the doors yourself."
"Because she manipulated the automation protocols," Elena insisted, leaning forward against the heavy metal cuffs. "Check the backup hardlines in the basement utility box. Thomas cut the fiber line; you'll find physical tampering evidence on the manual relays."
"Your associate, Mr. Thomas, is currently in holding answering accessory charges for corporate conspiracy," the detective replied flatly. "And as for the baby—Child Protective Services has taken temporary custody under emergency endangerment protocols due to the ongoing criminal investigation involving your household."
Elena felt the air leave her lungs in a sudden, sharp rush. The cool professional armor she had worn all morning cracked down the middle. "You took my child? Based on fraudulent logs compiled by the actual thief?"
"The court acts on verified financial trails, not domestic disputes," Vance said, closing the manila folder with a heavy slap. "If you want to fight the asset seizure and the custody order, you'll need to do it with a public defender in the morning arraignment. Right now, you're looking at federal indictment for corporate fraud."
The heavy steel door of the interrogation room clicked unlocked and swung open. A legal aide stepped inside, whispering something urgently into Detective Vance’s ear. The detective’s eyebrows shot up as he looked back at Elena with an entirely new expression of wariness.
"Well, it appears your corporate legal team moved faster than expected," Vance muttered, standing up from his chair. "You're being released on your own recognizance, effective immediately."
Elena looked up, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Released? Why?"
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"Because," Vance said, dropping a second, thicker file onto the table, "Evelyn Vance just walked into federal court and filed an emergency injunction declaring herself the sole surviving heir of a completely different estate—one that completely invalidates the corporate seizure entirely."
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