Chapter 6 - THE INTERROGATION OF KAREN MOREAU
-6
In the adjacent interrogation room, the atmosphere was vastly different, though equally suffocating.
Karen Moreau sat handcuffed to the stainless-steel table, her expensive designer jacket stained with dust from the underground tunnel where she had been captured twelve hours earlier. Her hair was messy, her makeup smeared down her cheeks, and her eyes darted frantically around the room as the heavy metal door clicked open.
She expected federal marshals. She expected prosecutors.
Instead, the door opened to reveal Mariana Escalante.
Mariana walked into the room with slow, deliberate steps. She wore a tailored midnight-blue pantsuit, her posture straight, her expression entirely serene. A faint trace of the bruise on her cheek was still visible, but her eyes held the terrifying, calm focus of an apex predator looking down at a trapped animal.
Karen flinched back instinctively, her breath catching in her throat. For a fleeting second, she tried to summon the haughty arrogance she had used to humiliate Mariana in the mansion’s kitchen.
"You..." Karen hissed, her voice trembling slightly. "You think you're smart, don't you? You think because you tricked Andrew into marrying you under a fake background that you've won something? Arthur will get us out of this! The federal court system is—"
"Your brother-in-law is currently two floors down, facing life imprisonment without parole," Mariana interrupted quietly, pulling out the opposite chair and seating herself with effortless grace.
Karen stopped mid-sentence. Her mouth hung open. "What... what did you say?"
"Arthur’s terminal was decrypted at midnight," Mariana said, resting her hands flat on the table. "Every offshore account, every encrypted communication log regarding Elena Vance’s murder, and every corporate bribe has been downloaded directly to the Department of Justice Inspector General."
Karen stared at Mariana, the blood draining completely from her face. The reality of her situation crashed over her like a tidal wave. "You... you're not just an ordinary woman. Who are you?"
"Four years ago, when Andrew Vance was three weeks away from declaring bankruptcy and losing his startup, he met me at a charity gala," Mariana said, her voice smooth and even. "I was looking for a quiet life away from the cutthroat corporate wars of my family's empire. I saw a man who claimed he wanted to build something meaningful, a man who swore he would protect and cherish a partner."
Mariana leaned forward slightly, her dark eyes locking onto Karen’s panicked gaze.
"I chose to give him my heart, my time, and my secret financial backing. I let him believe he was the master of his own destiny. I endured your insults, your mother-in-law’s condescension, and your petty, vindictive games because I wanted to believe that genuine love could overcome class arrogance."
Karen swallowed hard, her hands shaking inside the handcuffs. "If you had all that money... why did you stay? Why did you let us treat you like a servant?"
"Because love requires patience, Karen," Mariana replied softly. "It requires giving someone enough rope to show you who they truly are. And last night, Andrew showed me. He struck my face in front of his mistress, and ordered me to kneel."
A shiver ran down Karen’s spine. "And... and what happens to me?"
"You were trained as an intelligence operative, Karen," Mariana said, opening a thin manila folder and sliding a document across the table. "You were hired by Arthur to infiltrate my husband’s life, isolate my household, and execute a hostile asset takeover. Under federal law, that constitutes corporate espionage, conspiracy, and aiding a felony syndicate."
Karen looked down at the document. It was a complete, unredacted confession detailing every instruction Arthur had given her over the past four years, complete with audio transcripts from the smart-home microphones Mariana had secretly installed throughout the Vance estate.
"If you sign this statement," Mariana continued calmly, "and testify as a cooperating witness regarding Arthur’s direct orders in the Georgetown bridge sabotage, my legal team will recommend a reduced sentence of ten years in a minimum-security facility."
Karen looked up, tears of pure desperation welling in her eyes. "And if I don't sign?"
Mariana stood up smoothly, buttoning her jacket, her expression as cold as winter ice.
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"If you don't sign, you will spend the rest of your natural life in a maximum-security federal penitentiary alongside the most violent criminals in the country, with zero hope of parole, while my legal team ensures that every asset you ever stole or hidden is stripped away down to the last penny."
Karen didn't hesitate another second. She grabbed the pen from the table with her shaking hands, pulled the document toward her, and began signing her name across the dotted line.
