Chapter 7: The Interrogation Room
The federal holding facility in Alexandria was a bleak, monolithic structure of concrete and fluorescent lighting. It was a place designed to strip away ego, which was exactly what my sister needed.
Agent Vance had secured me ten minutes in the interrogation room with Celia. Officially, I was there to retrieve necessary passwords for the foundation's internal servers. Unofficially, I was conducting a threat assessment.
I stood by the reinforced glass window, watching the rain hit the wire mesh, when the heavy steel door clicked open.
Celia was escorted in by a female guard. The pale gold designer dress had been replaced by a stiff, oversized orange jumpsuit. Her immaculate hair was stringy and flat, and the makeup she had worn the night before was completely washed away, leaving her looking hollow and ten years older.
She sat down at the metal table, rubbing her wrists where the handcuffs had bruised her delicate skin. She looked up at me, her eyes brimming with a toxic mix of resentment and terror.
"Did you come to gloat, Elise?" Celia asked, her voice cracking, completely devoid of the sharp, aristocratic bite she usually wielded. "To see the animal in the cage?"
"I don't have the energy to gloat, Celia," I said, pulling out a metal chair and sitting across from her. I placed a legal pad and a pen on the table. "I need the administrative access codes for the foundation's domestic accounts. The FBI is auditing the books, and they need to bypass Nolan's encryption."
Celia let out a dry, humorless laugh. "You put me in federal prison, and you want me to help you with IT?"
"I put you in a room where nobody is shooting at you," I corrected coldly. "Which is a lot more than you deserve, considering you tried to frame me as a psychiatric liability to steal my mother's legacy. Write down the codes, Celia."
She glared at me, but she picked up the pen. Her hand was shaking so badly she could barely form the letters.
"They put me in a cell with a woman who screamed at the walls all night," Celia whispered, a tear finally spilling over her eyelashes. "Dad is in solitary. Nolan won't even look at me when they move us through the halls. My entire life is gone, Elise. Everything I worked for. My reputation, my friends..."
"Your friends were at the gala, Celia. They watched you get arrested. They aren't going to take your calls." I leaned forward, resting my forearms on the cold metal table. "But your reputation isn't what I'm worried about right now. I want to talk about the Obsidian Group."
Celia froze. The pen stopped moving. The terror in her eyes shifted from the abstract fear of prison to something visceral and immediate.
"Who told you about them?" she breathed.
"Nolan," I lied smoothly. "He's cooperating with the feds. He told them everything about Dad's debts. How much did you know?"
"Nothing!" Celia said frantically, leaning across the table. "I swear to God, Elise, I didn't know the specifics! Dad just told me we were in a liquidity crisis. Nolan was the one handling the offshore accounts. He was terrified, Elise. For the last three weeks, he hasn't been sleeping. He kept getting calls from blocked numbers."
"Did he ever mention a name?" I pressed, my tone relentless.
Celia swallowed hard, her eyes darting to the security camera in the corner of the room. "Once. He was drunk. He said a man named Kaelen was coming to D.C. to collect the collateral if we didn't secure your signature by Friday."
Kaelen. The name didn't ring a bell in my immediate intelligence files, but I memorized it instantly.
"You have to believe me, Elise," Celia pleaded, reaching out to touch my hand. I pulled my hand back instinctively, a rejection that made her flinch. "I just wanted to save the foundation. I didn't know Dad was dealing with mercenaries. If Kaelen didn't get his money..."
"He didn't get his money, Celia," I stated flatly. "Because the FBI seized it. Which means Kaelen is going to be looking for a new way to collect."
I stood up, taking the legal pad with the access codes.
"Elise, please!" Celia cried out as I walked toward the door. "Don't leave me in here! Talk to the prosecutor! Tell them I was manipulated!"
I stopped with my hand on the heavy steel handle and looked back at my older sister.
May you like
"You weren't manipulated, Celia. You were greedy," I said softly. "You made your bed. Now learn how to sleep in it."
I knocked twice on the door, and the guard opened it. I walked out, leaving her sobbing into her hands. The family ties were officially severed. Now, it was just a tactical operation.
