Chapter 12 - Behind the Glass
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The next afternoon, I requested a secure video call with Adrian. He was currently being held at the county correctional facility awaiting his formal arraignment on charges of attempted pre-meditated murder, conspiracy, and financial fraud.
Detective Morris set up the monitor in my hospital room.
When Adrian’s face appeared on the screen, I barely recognized him. The polished, impeccably groomed husband I had lived with for twelve years was gone. He wore a orange jumpsuit. His eyes were sunken, dark circles surrounding them, and his hair was wildly unkempt.
He stared at me through the screen, his lower lip trembling slightly. “Hannah…”
“Don't say my name,” I said flatly. “I am here to ask you questions. You will answer them truthfully, or Detective Morris will add three more counts of wire fraud to your indictment.”
Adrian swallowed hard and nodded meekly. “Okay. Okay, whatever you want.”
“Northstar Advisory Group,” I said, laying the corporate filing documents on my tray table. “You told the police you were broke. Yet you are listed as the sole managing director of an entity that held over three million dollars in assets four years ago.”
Adrian blinked, looking genuinely confused. “Northstar? That… that was just an investment vehicle my mother set up.”
“In your name?”
“Yes! She told me Dad was trying to hide money from us during the divorce. She said setting up Northstar was the only way to protect our family’s future.”
“And you just signed the incorporation paperwork without reading a single page?” I asked, my voice dripping with icy contempt.
“She was my mother, Hannah!” Adrian burst out defensively. “I trusted her! She handled all the legal documents with her own lawyer!”
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“And where did the money in Northstar come from, Adrian?” I pressed hard. “Did it come from your father’s stolen estate? Or did it come from somewhere else?”
Adrian slumped forward in his chair, putting his head in his hands. “I don't know,” he sobbed softly. “I swear to God, Hannah, I don't know! I just signed whatever papers she put in front of me!”
