Chapter 10
The small monitor on the cyber-crime specialist’s diagnostic kit illuminated the basement hallway with a sharp, blue-white glare. Detective Miller motioned for Marcus and Julianne to step closer, though neither of them moved.
"Let's look at the ten seconds before the argument started," Miller said, tapping the touchscreen with his gloved finger.
The video on the screen flickered to life. The image was crystal clear, capturing the upper landing of the grand staircase from the perspective of the hidden lens in the gold-ornamented painting frame. On screen, Julianne appeared standing alone at the top of the stairs, clutching her smartphone. She wasn't arguing with Clara; she was typing furiously, then carefully adjusting her own wrap dress, smoothing the fabric to ensure it would catch on the ornate wooden baluster.
Then, Julianne deliberately stepped backward, lifting her left foot off the edge of the riser while simultaneously hitting the record button on her phone to simulate the sound of an impending attack.
A moment later, Clara walked out of the guest room, saw Julianne teetering on the edge, and rushed forward shouting, "You turned everyone against me! Get away from him!"—too late to stop the fall, but just in time to be cast as the aggressor.
Julianne stared at the screen, her composure finally shattering. The theatrical innocence vanished, replaced by a cold, hardened fury. "That camera angle was edited," she snapped, her voice rising in panic. "Julian set it up to capture Clara! The footage is compromised!"
"The footage is unedited, timestamped, and backed up across three independent cloud servers that your brother-in-law forgot he gave me access to when I audited his corporate accounts last year," Marcus said quietly, his voice dead flat as he stared at Julianne with absolute betrayal.
Julianne whipped her head around to glare at Marcus. "You sold us out."
"I am saving myself," Marcus replied simply, stepping away from her toward Detective Miller. "Julian planned the entire liquidation scheme to frame Clara and retain the estate assets. I have the paper trail proving he initiated the corporate transfer, and I am willing to hand it over in exchange for federal immunity."
Miller looked from Marcus to Julianne, then back to the screen where the video continued to loop silently. "Immunity is up to the U.S. Attorney, Mr. Sterling. But your cooperation will certainly be noted in the official record."
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Julianne let out a bitter, humorless laugh, leaning heavily on her crutches as the reality of her entrapment settled over her like lead. "You think Clara wins this? Julian is already in Switzerland. He has the money, he has the passports, and by tomorrow morning, he’ll be beyond the reach of any court in this country."
"Maybe," Miller said, his expression calm and unwavering. "But Switzerland has an extradition treaty for financial fraud. And as for your sister—well, I believe she is currently being released from downtown with a very sincere apology from the state of New York."
