Chapter 2 - The Interrogation Room
The fluorescent lights of the downtown Chicago precinct hummed with a low, oppressive frequency. Across the metal table sat Detective Marcus Vance, a veteran financial crimes investigator with eyes that had seen every shade of corporate greed Illinois had to offer. Between us sat a thick cardboard box containing the external hard drive I had quietly couriered to the state attorney general's office three days before Christmas.
"You dropped a nuclear bomb on your family's legacy, Ms. Bennett," Vance said, leaning forward and tapping a printed transcript of the audio recording. "This tape of your father instructing the corporate attorney to frame you? It’s a smoking gun. But it also places you right in the middle of a two-million-dollar conspiracy. Why wait until midnight on New Year's Eve to pull the trigger?"
"Because patience is a virtue, Detective," I replied, sipping lukewarm tap water from a paper cup. "If I had handed this over nine months ago when I found the discrepancies, my father would have used his connections within the state appellate court to bury it inside a quiet civil audit. He would have retired to Florida with his pension intact, and I would be doing ten years in a federal penitentiary for wire fraud."
Vance’s lips twitched into a reluctant, appreciative smirk. "You set a trap."
"I laid out the cheese and waited for the rat to double-down on his signatures," I corrected gently. "Every single document he forged to shift the blame onto my corporate login credentials carried his digital metadata. I didn't just give you a recording; I gave you the cryptographic keys to every offshore account he opened using resident deposits."
Before Vance could respond, the heavy steel door of the interrogation room swung open. A young constable leaned in, whispering urgently into the detective's ear. Vance’s expression hardened instantly.
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"Well, it looks like your family has decided to join the party," Vance muttered, standing up. "Your sister Allison is outside with an expensive defense attorney. And your father... well, he’s currently being discharged from Mercy Hospital ICU. The doctors say his heart attack was mild, but his arrest warrant is already active."
I stood up, smoothing down my sweater with deliberate slowness. "Tell Allison I’ll see her in court. And make sure my father gets a front-row seat."
