Chapter 13 - The Interrogation Room
The interview room at the downtown federal precinct was small, windowless, and smelled faintly of cheap coffee and disinfectant. The cinderblock walls were painted a dull, institutional grey, reflecting the harsh glare of a single overhead fluorescent tube that hummed with an irritating, high-pitched frequency. Clara sat at the metal table, her hands folded neatly in front of her, staring across at Mark.
He looked smaller than he had in the living room earlier that day. His beige t-shirt was wrinkled and stained with sweat, his hair disheveled, and his eyes bloodshot from hours of crying and panic. He kept his wrists cuffed to a metal loop bolted to the center of the table, his shoulders slumped in utter defeat.
"Clara," Mark choked out, his voice cracking as he looked up. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. You have to believe me. Julian promised me a cut of the venture returns so I could pay off my poker debts, and then he just... he changed the terms on me."
Clara didn't flinch. She kept her expression completely neutral, studying the brother she had spent her entire adult life trying to protect from his own reckless impulses.
"You forged Mother’s signature, Mark," Clara said quietly, her voice devoid of anger, which somehow made it terrifyingly worse for him. "You used her home as collateral for a high-risk liquidity loan, and you let her sit there and take the blame for a five-thousand-dollar debt that was just a drop in the ocean of your theft."
Mark winced, tears spilling over his lower eyelids and tracking down his hollow cheeks. "I was desperate! The loan sharks were going to break my legs if I didn't show them collateral. I thought I could win the money back at the tables and pay it off before anyone noticed the deed was missing!"
"You always think you can fix your mistakes by doubling down on the lie," Clara replied, leaning forward slightly. "You didn't just break the law, Mark. You broke our family. You let Mother believe she was losing her mind and her home, all to cover your tracks."
"Are they going to put me away for a long time?" Mark whispered, his lower lip trembling uncontrollably. "Did Julian hand over the evidence?"
Clara reached into her pocket and placed the sealed evidence bag containing the flash drive onto the metal table, sliding it across the surface until it clinked against his cuffed hands.
"The feds recovered the trust drive," Clara said evenly. "Mother’s house is safe. Julian is facing federal charges for corporate fraud and extortion. As for you..." She paused, letting the silence stretch out painfully before continuing. "The federal prosecutor is offering a plea deal if you cooperate fully and testify against Julian’s entire network."
Mark stared down at the flash drive, his chest heaving with ragged breaths as the reality of his situation crashed down around him. But before he could answer, the heavy steel door behind Clara clicked open, and the lead federal investigator stepped into the room with an urgent look on his face.
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"Ms. Miller," the agent interrupted, addressing Clara directly. "You need to see this dispatch report. It just came in from your mother’s neighborhood."
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