Chapter 7 - Unraveling the Web
The interrogation room at the downtown precinct smelled of cheap coffee and stale floor wax. Through the one-way glass, I watched Rebecca sit rigidly in her chair, her designer wedding gown looking absurdly out of place against the gray cinderblock walls. Her defense attorney, a sharp-suited man who had arrived twenty minutes prior, was frantically whispering advice into her ear, but Rebecca wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on the glass, burning with a helpless, incandescent rage.
Detective Miller walked into the observation room, holding a thick manila folder filled with financial printouts and background checks.
“You were right about more than just the poisoning, Arthur,” Miller said, tossing the folder onto the metal table. “We ran her biometric profile through the federal database. ‘Rebecca’ isn't even her real name. She’s Veronica Sterling. She has a ten-year rap sheet spanning three states—identity theft, corporate embezzlement, and suspicious financial exploitation of wealthy, aging widowers.”
I looked through the glass at the woman who had wormed her way into my home, calculated my net worth, and plotted to eliminate my daughter to secure total control of my estate. The cold realization of how close I had come to absolute ruin sent a shiver down my spine.
“She targeted me because of the company valuation after my wife passed,” I murmured, leaning against the counter.
“Precisely,” Miller nodded. “She played the long game. Two years of patience, integration, and emotional manipulation. If it wasn't for your three-year-old grandson stumbling across that flash drive, she would have pulled it off. That kid is sharper than most corporate auditors.”
I smiled faintly, warmth flooding my chest as I thought of Noah. He had saved our family.
“Can I go home now?” I asked.
May you like
“Whenever you’re ready, Arthur. We have enough evidence to lock her away for a very long time. The asset freeze has already been enacted by your legal team; every cent she tried to misdirect has been secured.”
I nodded, gripping my coat. It was time to go back to where real family mattered.
