Chapter 5 - The Interrogation RoomThe private study had been converted into a temporary holding room. Two federal agents stood guard by the heavy oak doors as I walked in.
Eleanor and Natalie sat on the velvet sofa. Gone was the arrogant aura of high society; they looked small, desperate, and shivering—not from the cold outside, but from the sudden, terrifying vacuum of power.
Eleanor looked up as I entered, her face twisted in a mask of bitter fury. "You arrogant little bastard! You’re actually going to put your own mother on the street? After everything I sacrificed for you?"
"Sacrificed?" I asked, pulling up a leather armchair and sitting down directly across from them. I rested my elbows on my knees, staring straight into her eyes. "You sacrificed nothing, Mother. You spent thirty years riding my father’s coattails, spending his fortune, and treating everyone around you like disposable servants."
"We are your blood!" Natalie shrieked, tears streaming down her makeup-stained cheeks. "You can't do this to us! People of our social standing don't go to jail! They don't lose everything!"
"Social standing," I repeated, letting out a dry, humorless laugh. "You think a country club membership and a designer wardrobe give you immunity from the law? Let me educate you on something, Natalie. Out there in the real world—outside the little bubble Father built to protect you—actions have consequences."
I slid a single sheet of paper onto the coffee table between us.
"What is this?" Eleanor muttered suspiciously, refusing to look down.
"That is an itemized list of every fraudulent wire transfer you executed over the last three years," I said calmly. "Twelve million, four hundred thousand dollars. Siphoned from the Carter family manufacturing accounts into personal offshore holdings."
Eleanor’s breath hitched. She stared at the paper, her face turning chalk-white. "How... how did you..."
"You forgot who my father was," I said softly. "Richard Carter wasn't just a wealthy businessman. He was a pioneer in industrial tech, and he had deep ties to federal oversight committees. He knew you were stealing from him years ago, Mother. He just wanted to gather enough rope to hang you legally."
"No... no, Richard wouldn't do that to us..." Eleanor stammered, shaking her head in denial.
"He gave you a choice," I replied, standing up. "He gave you a home, a life of absolute luxury, and a monthly allowance most people could only dream of. All he asked in return was that you treat his household with basic human decency. You couldn't even manage that."
"Daniel, please!" Natalie lunged forward, grabbing the hem of my jacket. "Please, Daniel! Don't do this! We’ll apologize to Claire! We’ll get on our knees and beg her forgiveness! Just don't let them take the house! Don't let them send us to prison!"
I looked down at my sister, feeling nothing—no anger, no pity, just an absolute, hollow void.
"You should have thought about that when you were holding the door shut," I said, gently pulling my jacket from her grip.
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At that moment, the door opened, and two federal marshals stepped inside, handcuffs glinting coldly under the lights.
"Eleanor Carter and Natalie Carter," the lead marshal announced, his voice flat and professional. "You are under arrest for grand larceny, financial fraud, and conspiracy. You have the right to remain silent..."
