Chapter 12 - THE INTERROGATION
I couldn't stay in the house.
The walls felt like they were closing in on me.
Every cup of tea.
Every conversation.
Every memory was tainted with poison and lies.
I drove to the police precinct.
Detective Mitchell had asked me to come down for a formal statement.
When I arrived, the station was buzzing with chaotic energy.
"We just got search warrants for Marcus Vance's office," Mitchell told me.
"Is he in custody?" I asked.
She shook her head.
"No."
"He never went back to his firm after he left the preschool."
"He's in the wind."
My stomach dropped.
The man who helped orchestrate my ruin was out there.
Knowing where I lived.
Knowing where my son went to school.
"We'll find him," Mitchell assured me.
"Right now, I need you to listen to something."
She led me into a small observation room.
Through the two-way mirror, I could see Claire.
She was sitting in an interrogation room, looking small and terrified.
Her makeup was smeared.
Her hands were shaking.
A detective was sitting across from her.
Mitchell turned on the audio speaker.
"Tell us about the offshore accounts, Claire," the detective demanded.
Claire sobbed.
"I don't know about any offshore accounts!"
"I just signed the transfer forms Ethan gave me!"
"You forged your sister's name," the detective reminded her.
"I had to!" Claire cried.
"Why?"
Claire hesitated.
She looked around the room, as if Ethan might appear from the shadows.
"Because of the debt," she whispered.
My brow furrowed.
"What debt?" the detective asked.
"My business," Claire said, tears pouring down her face.
"My boutique was failing."
"I was three hundred thousand dollars in debt."
"I was going to lose my house."
I stared through the glass in absolute shock.
Claire had never mentioned money problems.
She always wore designer clothes.
Drove a luxury car.
"Ethan found out," Claire continued.
"He offered to help me."
"He said if I helped him move some of Emma's money into a temporary trust..."
"...he would pay off my business loans."
"He promised he would put Emma's money back before she noticed."
The detective slammed his hand on the table.
"And you believed him?"
"He's a financial advisor!" Claire yelled back.
"He handles millions of dollars!"
"I thought it was just a temporary loan!"
I felt sick.
She had sold me out for her failing boutique.
She had risked my son's future to save her own ego.
"When did you find out about the other women?" the detective asked.
Claire shook her head frantically.
"Today."
"I swear to God, today."
"When I saw those photos on the tablet..."
She buried her face in her hands.
"I didn't know he was a monster."
"I didn't know."
I turned away from the glass.
I couldn't look at her anymore.
She was my sister.
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We had shared a bedroom growing up.
And she had traded my life to pay her bills.
