Chapter 6
The interrogation room at the precinct was stark, smelling faintly of stale coffee and industrial cleaning solution. A single metal table sat in the center of the linoleum floor, flanked by two chairs. Elena sat rigidly in one of them, her white blazer spotless, her fingers nervously tapping against the cold steel surface. The door swung open, and Detective Miller—a stern, middle-aged investigator with sharp eyes and an unyielding posture—walked in, dropping a thick manila folder onto the table with a dull thud.
Miller took a seat opposite Elena, folding his hands together and leaning forward into the harsh overhead light. "Let's skip the games, Elena. We have the pharmacy records. We have the video file from your phone that was still uploading to your cloud storage when Officer Vance confiscated it. You didn't just happen to be at the park; you orchestrated the entire setup."
Elena lifted her chin defensively, though her eyes darted toward the two-way mirror on the wall. "I didn't give Leo anything. The video proves I was recording Sarah's reaction because she was neglecting her children while she was on her own phone. I was trying to expose her poor parenting."
Detective Miller pulled a glossy printed photograph from the manila folder and slid it across the table. It was a still frame captured from her own recovered smartphone video. In the high-resolution image, Elena's hand was clearly visible holding the open orange pill bottle directly above Leo's toy truck on the park bench, her expression one of cold, calculated intent.
"This isn't about exposing bad parenting, Elena," Miller said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low register. "This is about premeditated reckless endangerment resulting in great bodily harm to a minor. That charge carries a minimum of fifteen years in a state penitentiary. Unless, of course, you want to start explaining why you felt the need to poison your own sister's son to prove a point."
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Elena’s facade finally cracked. The cool, dismissive persona dissolved into a pathetic heap of trembling denial. "It was supposed to be a wake-up call!" she sobbed, her hands flying up to cover her face as tears finally spilled over. "Sarah always plays the perfect victim! Everyone feels sorry for her since the divorce, while I'm the one carrying the family business, paying the bills, keeping everyone afloat! I just wanted Sarah to look helpless for once, so people would see what I deal with every single day. I didn't think Leo would actually swallow the pill. He was just supposed to pretend to feel sick!"
Detective Miller watched her with cold disgust, jotting down her partial confession in his notebook. "A child's life is not a prop for your jealousy, Elena. Your petty grievances just brought you to the doorstep of a prison cell."
