Chapter 13 - The Second Device
The silence in the interrogation room grew heavy and suffocating. Arthur stared at the detective, the full horror of the situation finally settling into his marrow.
“Are you saying Julian or Elena tried to kill us while we were trapped in the vault?” Arthur asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Not us, Arthur. They thought you were the only one down there when they triggered the timer,” Vance corrected, tapping the edge of the table with his pen. “According to the digital footprint we recovered from Julian’s smartphone, the incendiary timer was set from a remote application precisely three minutes after you opened the vault door. They didn’t expect Elena to follow you down, and they certainly didn’t expect you to find the nursery in time to get the girl out.”
Arthur stood up so abruptly that the metal chair screeched against the linoleum floor, echoing loudly in the small room. He paced toward the mirrored glass looking into the observation room, where Lily was still sleeping peacefully under the heavy blanket.
“They were willing to kill a four-year-old child just to keep a six-year-old secret buried?” Arthur’s voice shook with a dangerous, long-suppressed fury.
“Greed and desperation make people do monstrous things,” Vance said, standing up to place a heavy hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “Which is why you need to know one last thing before we move these suspects to the county jail.”
Arthur turned around slowly, bracing himself for whatever new horror the detective was about to unveil. “What else could there possibly be?”
“We searched the perimeter of the estate gardens about an hour ago, following a tip regarding an auxiliary storage shed near the old oak tree,” Vance said, his voice dropping an octave. “We found a second cedar box, identical to the one in the vault. Inside it wasn’t just Clara’s remaining jewelry.”
Arthur held his breath, his chest tight. “What was inside?”
“A journal,” Vance replied. “Written in Clara’s hand during the final week of her life. It details every single transaction, every forged signature, and every threat made against her by both Julian and Eleanor. But more importantly, it contains the names of the co-conspirators inside your own corporate board who helped them orchestrate the financial ruin of your company.”
Arthur felt the room begin to spin slightly. The betrayal wasn't just confined to a dead wife’s stolen ring or a murderous former roommate; it ran straight through the heart of the boardroom he had spent twenty years building.
“Who else is involved?” Arthur demanded.
Before Inspector Vance could answer, the heavy steel door of the interrogation room burst open, and a frantic young precinct officer rushed in, holding a portable radio crackling with emergency static.
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“Inspector! You need to come to the front desk immediately!” the officer shouted, breathing heavily. “A high-priority prisoner transport just arrived from the state attorney general’s office with a federal warrant for the entire board of directors.”
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