Chapter 10 - The Interrogation Room
The interrogation room was painfully small, smelling faintly of stale coffee and old floor wax, illuminated by a harsh fluorescent tube overhead that flickered with an irritating buzz. Maya sat handcuffed to the bolted metal table, her beige slip dress slightly wrinkled, her wrists aching from the cold steel. Across from her sat Detective Miller, a tired-looking veteran with tired eyes and a thick file stamped with federal red ink.
The heavy metal door clicked open, and Marcus walked in, his face pale, his suit disheveled, ignoring the warning shouts of the guard outside.
“You shouldn't be in here, Marcus,” Maya said softly, looking up from her locked hands with a weary expression. “Your mother is watching this through the one-way glass right now. Every move you make plays right into her hands.”
Marcus ignored her warning, pulling out the metal chair across from her and sitting down so hard the table rattled against the linoleum floor.
“I don’t care who is watching, Maya,” Marcus said, his voice thick with emotion as he reached across the table, pressing his palm against her bound wrists. “I spent the last two hours tearing my mother’s estate apart with Julian. We found the offshore bank accounts, and we found the exact signature forgery she used to frame you five years ago.”
Maya’s eyes widened with a sudden spark of hope, though her expression remained cautious.
“Did you get the physical hard drives out before her security detail caught you?” Maya asked urgently, leaning forward despite the handcuffs.
Marcus nodded slowly, pulling a small silver flash drive from his pocket and slipping it discreetly beneath his handkerchief on the table.
“Julian uploaded the decrypted files to the federal prosecutor’s private email three minutes before the police seized my phone,” Marcus whispered fiercely. “The warrant for your arrest is already being vacated by a judge who isn't on my mother’s payroll.”
Before Maya could reply, the heavy metal door swung open violently, and Eleanor Vance stepped into the interrogation room, flanked by two armed private security guards and her high-priced corporate attorney.
“Save your romantic speeches, Marcus,” Eleanor said, her voice dripping with absolute venom as she walked up to the table and looked down at Maya with pure disdain. “The federal prosecutor you sent those files to was arrested for bribery ten minutes ago. You lost.”
Marcus stood up slowly, towering over his mother with a look of terrifying calm in his eyes.
“You think you’ve won, Mother, but you forgot one crucial detail,” Marcus said, his voice echoing off the concrete walls.
May you like
Before Eleanor could answer, the overhead lights flickered and died, plunging the interrogation room into total darkness except for the green glow of the emergency exit sign.
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