Chapter 7 - The Interrogation Cell and the Secret Alias
The holding cells at the downtown precinct smelled of cheap disinfectant and stale coffee, a far cry from the glittering marble floors of the Zenith Foundation.
I sat on a metal bench inside interrogation room B, watching through the one-way glass as my father was questioned by federal agents in the adjacent room.
The flash drive I had ripped from Arthur’s pocket lay sealed in an evidence bag on the steel table between us, guarded by a junior officer who wouldn't even meet my eyes.
The heavy metal door clicked open, and Detective Vance walked in, tossing a thick manila folder onto the table with a heavy thud.
"Your father’s corporate accounts have been frozen by order of the federal judge, Maya," the detective said, pulling out a chair and sitting down heavily.
"And according to our preliminary check on that flash drive, the encryption key requires a biometric signature belonging to someone named Elizabeth Vance."
My breath caught in my throat.
Elizabeth Vance was my mother—a woman my father claimed had died in a tragic car accident twenty-five years ago, long before I was born.
"That’s impossible," I said, leaning forward across the table.
"My mother passed away when I was a baby. My father told me so himself."
The detective slid a faded newspaper clipping across the table, the black-and-white print showing a young woman being led out of a federal courthouse in handcuffs.
"Elizabeth Vance didn't die in a crash, Maya," the detective said softly, watching my reaction closely.
"She faked her own death after embezzling fifty million dollars from the exact same Swiss bank linked to this flash drive, and the federal task force believes she is still alive."
Before I could process the shattering revelation, the overhead intercom hissed to life, broadcasting a frantic message from the precinct front desk.
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"We have an emergency incoming—Arthur Sterling just walked into the federal bureau downtown, and he's claiming that Maya Vance is the mastermind behind the entire syndicate."
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