Chapter 13 - The Final Audit
Inside the federal precinct interrogation room, the fluorescent lights buzzed overhead with an irritating, relentless drone.
Julian sat slumped in a metal chair, his expensive dark blue suit ruined, his slicked-back light brown hair matted with sweat and rain. Across the stainless-steel table sat Detective Marcus, flipping slowly through a thick stack of printed financial transcripts and forged signature logs.
"Your signature is on every single offshore transfer, Julian," Marcus stated calmly, sliding a document across the table. "Chairman Vance has already provided the internal audit showing you orchestrated the entire scheme."
Julian let out a hollow, broken laugh, shaking his head as the reality of his utter ruin settled over him.
"He set us up," Julian whispered hoarsely, staring blankly at the metal table. "Clara and I were just pawns in his game to secure the government bailout funds."
"A game you played willingly, with full knowledge of the consequences," Marcus replied without an ounce of sympathy. "And where is your accomplice now?"
"Clara is in the adjacent room singing like a canary," Julian spat bitterly. "She's trading every detail of Vance's offshore accounts just to shave a few years off her sentence."
Marcus closed the file folder with a sharp snap. "Then it's a good thing Elena provided the master drive before you and Vance managed to purge the mainframe."
Julian froze, his head snapping up to meet the detective's piercing gaze. "Elena? She survived?"
"She did," Marcus said, standing up and buttoning his jacket. "And she's currently filing for complete dissolution of marriage, full custody, and total forfeiture of all your remaining corporate assets."
Before Julian could speak, the interrogation room door opened, and a junior officer whispered something urgently into Marcus's ear. The detective's expression shifted instantly, a dark shadow passing across his face as he looked down at Julian.
"What is it?" Julian asked, a sudden knot forming in his stomach.
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"It's Chairman Vance," Marcus said grimly. "His private jet just cleared the tarmac before our freeze order reached the private airstrip. He's fleeing the country."
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