Chapter 11 - The Blame Game
The interrogation room smelled intensely of stale coffee and bitter desperation. Victoria sat handcuffed to the heavy metal table, her expensive designer gown now hopelessly wrinkled and stained with spilled makeup. She looked incredibly small, a far cry from the towering, arrogant woman who had slapped Maya just hours prior.
Detective Rossi sat across from her, sliding a glossy photograph across the table. It was a still frame captured from Maya's video, showing Marcus dropping the pill into the juice.
"We have the video, Victoria," Rossi said flatly. "We have the toxicology report proving it was a lethal neurotoxin. And we have your brother in the next room crying like a baby, completely willing to testify that you orchestrated the entire plot."
"He is a liar!" Victoria shrieked, her voice cracking violently. "Marcus is weak! He always has been! He made terrible investments in real estate and owed millions to dangerous people. He needed Julian dead so he could take control of the company assets. I had absolutely nothing to do with it!"
"That's a very compelling story," Rossi noted, leaning back in his chair. "But unfortunately for you, we also executed a search warrant on your private penthouse this morning. Our cyber team cracked your encrypted laptop."
Victoria’s breath hitched in her throat. Her eyes darted wildly around the sterile room.
"We found the emails, Victoria," Rossi continued relentlessly. "We found the encrypted messages sent to a black-market chemical supplier in Eastern Europe. The payment was traced directly back to an offshore shell company registered in your maiden name. You bought the poison, Victoria. Marcus was just the idiot you manipulated into delivering it."
Victoria buried her face in her handcuffed hands, letting out a long, agonizing wail of absolute defeat. Her perfect, gilded world had entirely collapsed in less than twelve hours.
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"I want a deal," Victoria whispered through her tears. "I can give you the names of the executives inside Sterling Vanguard who helped us hide the money. Just don't put me in a maximum-security prison. Please."
Rossi closed his notebook. "You aren't in any position to make demands, lady. You are going away for a very long time."
