Chapter 9 - The Investigator’s Call
The screen of Marcus’s phone glowed brightly in the grey afternoon light, displaying the active connection to the municipal fraud division. Julian’s face turned an ugly shade of pale grey as he realized the conversation had been captured from the very beginning. He lunged forward, trying to slap the phone out of Marcus’s hand, but Marcus stepped back effortlessly, his tall frame blocking Julian’s path with casual authority.
“Don’t touch me,” Marcus warned, his voice low and uncompromising. “Every step you take toward me right now is an additional charge for intimidation.”
Nia grabbed Julian’s arm, pulling him back onto the porch. Her earlier defiance was rapidly evaporating, replaced by a frantic desperation as she realized her son was about to face the legal consequences of his actions. “Marcus, stop! Put the phone down. We can talk about this inside like a family. There’s no need to involve the police over a simple administrative mistake.”
“An administrative mistake?” Marcus asked, shaking his head slowly. “You sold our daughter’s scholarship laptop, you forged my signature on a property lien, and now you’re covering up identity theft to protect a twenty-four-year-old con artist who can’t run his own business without stealing from a teenager.”
Ava stood silently behind her father, her eyes fixed on Nia. There was no sadness left in the young girl’s expression—only a cold, piercing clarity that made Nia look away in shame.
Before Marcus could hit send on the transfer of the audio file to the investigator’s direct portal, his phone vibrated violently in his hand, interrupting the transmission. An incoming call from an unknown local number flashed across the screen, labeled with the automated tag: State Academic Foundation - Legal Compliance.
Marcus stared at the caller ID for a second before pressing the answer button and lifting the phone to his ear. “This is Marcus Vance.”
“Mr. Vance, this is Director Vance—no relation—calling from the State Academic Foundation,” a sharp, professional voice stated through the speaker. “We’ve completed our preliminary audit regarding the fellowship grant issued to your daughter, Ava Vance. We have reason to believe that a secondary party submitted fraudulent withdrawal forms to redirect the hardware grant to an unauthorized address. We need you and Ava at our downtown office within the hour.”
Marcus looked down at Ava, then back at Nia, who was now gripping the wooden porch railing so tightly her knuckles were completely white.
May you like
“We’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Marcus said firmly into the phone before ending the call. He looked at Nia one last time. “The Foundation wants to talk to us about the redirected laptop. And I’m bringing the pawn shop receipt and this audio file with me.”
---
