Chapter 7 - The Interrogation Room
The morning sun broke through the hospital blinds.
Lily was finally cleared to go home.
The doctor assured me she would make a full recovery.
He gave me a new prescription for emergency injectors.
He told me I was lucky.
I did not feel lucky.
I felt like I had survived a war.
I carried Lily out to the car.
I had arranged for a private security guard to sit outside our house.
I was taking absolutely no chances.
I tucked Lily into her bed and locked every door and window.
Then, my phone rang.
It was the district attorney’s office.
“Mr. Hart, we need you to come down to the precinct,” the voice said.
“Evelyn is demanding to see you.”
“She is refusing to speak to her lawyers until she talks to you.”
“You don't have to do it.”
“But it might help us secure a full confession.”
I looked at the sleeping face of my daughter.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” I said.
The police station was a buzzing hive of activity.
Detectives were walking back and forth with thick file folders.
Telephones were ringing endlessly.
Detective Collins met me in the lobby.
She looked exhausted, but her eyes were sharp.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Daniel?” she asked.
“She is going to try to manipulate you.”
“She is going to try to play the victim.”
“I know exactly what she is,” I replied coldly.
“Lead the way.”
We walked down a long, sterile hallway.
Collins stopped in front of a heavy metal door.
She swiped her keycard, and the door clicked open.
Behind a large sheet of two-way glass, Evelyn sat at a metal table.
She was still wearing the expensive plum-colored suit.
But the perfection was gone.
Her silver hair was messy.
Her makeup was smeared beneath her eyes.
The arrogant posture was replaced by a slight slump in her shoulders.
She looked her age for the very first time.
I walked into the interrogation room alone.
The heavy door slammed shut behind me.
Evelyn looked up.
Her eyes were completely devoid of warmth.
“Daniel,” she said, her voice raspy.
“Tell these ridiculous police officers to let me go.”
“This is a massive misunderstanding.”
I pulled out the metal chair across from her and sat down.
I did not say a word.
I just stared at her.
“I was trying to protect Lily,” Evelyn continued.
“You are a negligent father.”
“You forgot the medication.”
“I simply stepped in to save her.”
“Save the performance, Evelyn,” I interrupted.
My voice was terrifyingly calm.
“We have Lily’s smartwatch recording.”
“We have the missing medication from your car.”
“We have Michael’s full confession.”
Evelyn flinched slightly at the mention of Michael’s name.
“Michael is a pathetic liar,” she sneered.
“He is a degenerate gambler.”
“No one will believe him.”
I leaned forward across the metal table.
I rested my forearms on the cold steel.
“They don't need to believe Michael.”
“They just need to believe Marcus Vance.”
All the blood completely vanished from Evelyn’s face.
Her mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out.
Her hands began to tremble on the table.
“He told them everything, Evelyn.”
“He told them about the cash payments.”
“He told them how you hired him to cut the brake lines on Anna’s car.”
“He told them you paid him an extra ten thousand dollars to keep quiet.”
Evelyn stared at me in pure horror.
The mask had finally slipped.
The wealthy socialite was gone.
The cold-blooded murderer was sitting right in front of me.
“Anna was going to cut me off,” Evelyn whispered frantically.
“She found out I was embezzling money from the family charity.”
“She was going to expose me, Daniel.”
“She was going to ruin my reputation!”
She was crying now.
But they were not tears of remorse.
They were tears of self-pity.
“Your reputation?” I yelled, slamming my fist onto the table.
The loud bang echoed off the concrete walls.
Evelyn jumped back in her chair.
“You killed your own daughter to save your reputation?”
“You tried to kill your own granddaughter to steal her inheritance?”
Evelyn sobbed uncontrollably into her hands.
“You are a monster,” I said quietly.
I stood up from the chair.
“I hope you live a very long life in a very small cell.”
May you like
I turned and walked out of the room.
I didn't look back.
