Chapter 8: The Interrogation**
David was seated in an interrogation room at the county sheriff's station, the metallic table cold under his forearms. Deputy Miller, a square-jawed officer who had gone to high school with Sarah, sat across from him with a neutral, exhausted expression.
""David, we found you in an agitated state, broken glass in the kitchen, and your mother-in-law gave a very detailed statement about your deteriorating mental health,"" Miller said, clicking his pen. ""CPS has placed Emma under temporary protective custody at Eleanor's residence pending a psychiatric evaluation for you.""
""Miller, listen to me!"" David slammed his palms against the table, straining against his self-control. ""She poisoned Sarah! She's poisoning Emma! Did you run the toxicology report I gave you?""
Miller sighed, rubbing his forehead. ""Dr. Reed gave us the lab sheet. It proves Digoxin was in that bottle. But Eleanor’s lawyer is already here. He provided records showing Arthur had a valid Digoxin prescription years ago before he died. Eleanor claims she simply forgot the old medication was stored in her heirloom box.""
""And the dosage notes in her ledger?!""
""What ledger?"" Miller asked, looking up.
David's stomach sank. ""The leather-bound journal inside the box.""
Miller shook his head slowly. ""The deputies searched the vanity. There was no ledger, David. Only empty jewelry pouches and that one prescription bottle.""
Eleanor had hidden the journal before the police arrived. She had outmaneuvered him, cleaning her tracks while framing him as a paranoid madman suffering from grief-induced psychosis.
""I have forty-eight hours before a family court judge signs over temporary guardianship to her,"" Miller said quietly. ""If you don't calm down and cooperate with the psychological evaluator, you will lose your daughter permanently.""
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David leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. Despair threatened to drown him, but then he remembered the look in Emma’s eyes—the pale skin, the trembling hands. If he gave up now, Emma would be dead before her seventh birthday.
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