Chapter 6: The Interrogation
The small conference room inside the Oakridge administrative wing smelled faintly of old floor wax and cheap coffee. The vertical blinds were drawn shut, cutting off the afternoon glare and casting long, striped shadows across the mahogany table. Federal investigator Sarah Vance sat at the head of the table, her leather briefcase unlatched and a digital voice recorder resting on the wood, its red indicator light blinking with a steady, hypnotic rhythm.
Marcus sat opposite her, his hands cuffed loosely to a metal ring bolted into the underside of the table. His varsity sweater looked rumpled and stained with sweat, a stark contrast to his usual immaculate appearance.
"Let's go through this one more time, Marcus," the investigator said, her voice smooth, controlled, and entirely devoid of emotion. "Who initiated the plan to alter the STEM fellowship criteria? Was it you, or was it Arthur Sterling—Chad's father?"
Marcus swallowed hard, his eyes darting toward the closed door as if expecting his father's lawyers to burst in at any second. "It was Arthur. He... he said the school owed him a return on his investment after the stadium naming rights fell through. He wanted the state grant money redirected to his construction firm's subsidiary accounts."
"And your role?" the investigator pressed, tapping a pen rhythmically against her notepad.
"I just managed the student portal access codes," Marcus whispered, staring fixedly at his own knuckles. "Chad was supposed to make sure nobody questioned the final announcement. We didn't think anyone would actually check the raw data logs."
"You underestimated Leo Vance," the investigator noted, jotting down a quick sentence on her pad. "And you physically assaulted him to cover your tracks."
"I didn't push him! That was Chad!" Marcus protested, his voice cracking with sudden panic. "Chad lost his temper because Leo actually beat us fair and square in the regional algorithms test. The kid is a genius; we couldn't match his code without stealing it outright."
Outside the glass partition, Principal Miller stood watching the interrogation alongside Leo, who leaned heavily on his crutches. The door clicked open a moment later, and the investigator stepped out into the hallway, pulling off her reading glasses.
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"He's folding faster than expected," she told the principal. "The whole corporate network Arthur Sterling built is collapsing under its own weight. But there's one problem." She turned her gaze directly toward Leo. "Chad's father isn't going down quietly. He's claiming that the fellowship grant itself was awarded through administrative favoritism, and he's filing a federal injunction to freeze all disbursements until an independent audit is completed."
Leo felt a sudden, hollow drop in his stomach. "Freeze the grants? That means the state institute won't accept my enrollment paperwork for the spring semester."
